Ignatieff announces new national housing strategy

Plans to implement it before the next federal election

Opposition leader Michael Ignatieff says the Liberals will create a new national housing strategy before the next federal election.


 "We had a lot of excellent suggestions from municipal officials, from people who run co-op housing, from veterans in the field. We got out of affordable housing in 1993, [which] we shouldn't have done," he said.


In a conference with reporters in Vancouver earlier this week Ignatieff said the policy will be "fiscally responsible and get the job done."


Ignatieff didn't provide specifics about the housing strategy saying he wants more input on the issue. He did, however, suggest the CMHC needs to start prioritizing construction of affordable homes, Straight, a Vancouver online newsource, reports.


"The other thing is to look at the tax code," Ignatieff added. "Are there ways we can incentivize people who construct apartment dwellings, give them a capital gain rollover if they build more housing? That kind of thing. Those are the ideas that we are working on at the moment."