A welder works on a building in downtown Sydney, N.S., on March 17, 2022.
The MURB scheme allowed investors to claim depreciation and certain other costs of an apartment building against unrelated income. It was credited with encouraging the construction of about 195,000 units at a cost of $2.4 billion in forgone taxes, although the CMHC said there are some questions about the program's true influence.
Some parts of the briefing note are redacted, and it's not clear whether the CMHC endorses or disapproves of reinstating the program in some form. The agency, which declined to comment, also notes that taxation is the purview of the Finance Department. "We are focused on identifying and rapidly implementing the solutions needed to tackle the housing crisis head-on, including measures that will change the financial equation for home builders to promote the large-scale construction of more affordable rental housing," the email said.
Peter Polley, a developer in Halifax, said the MURB scheme was used to construct a "significant number" of apartment buildings in the city in the 1970s, although he doesn't believe it's a solution to today's supply issues.Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took aim at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's housing plans Thursday, saying the Liberal government's 'inflationary deficits' and 'taxes and bureaucracy' are holding back construction of new homes.