Staff and board members of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON), and various industry representatives, recently had a round-table conversation with federal Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson and Canada’s Secretary of State for Labour John Zerucelli.
The group toured the H+ME Technology Plant in Etobicoke, and afterwards, the minister and secretary of state met with the group to discuss the challenges facing Ontario’s residential construction sector and the potential effect it will have on the economy.
The group also had a conversation about initiatives that need to be put in place to spur new residential building.
Attendees discussed the need to accelerate both PropTech and ConTech, as well as the state of offsite construction and what can be done to accelerate growth and increase production and delivery of housing.
RESCON appreciates that Robertson and Zerucelli took time to meet and look forward to working with the federal government to spur construction of more housing.
“Immediate bold and concerted action is needed to get more shovels in the ground for housing projects,” said RESCON president Richard Lyall. “The residential construction industry is in dire straits and new housing starts and sales are grim. We need to lower development charges, reduce red tape which only adds to approval timelines, and speed up the approvals process. Without a healthy residential construction industry our economy will suffer.”
RESCON says the decline in residential construction has the potential to devastate Ontario’s economy, and notes that a 30 per cent decline in industry activity could result in 121,500 total job losses, a 50 per cent drop that would result in 202,500, and an 80 per cent dip that would total 324,000.
“The entire economy of Ontario would feel the effects of such an industry employment decline,” said Lyall. “Industries that supply the new home market with everything from lumber to drywall and windows would also be affected. A decline in the construction workforce would result in hardship for many families. It is critical that we take swift action to boost homebuilding in Ontario.”