Ontario’s residential builders want the federal government to seriously reform the immigration system to usher in skilled trades workers who have been trained abroad.
Ahead of the federal budget 2023, The Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) is also calling for significant changes to stimulate housing supply and financial help so municipalities can expand critical projects like public transportation and roads.
“We must have a sustainable workforce to build the 1.5 million new homes that are needed in the next 10 years,” says RESCON president Richard Lyall. “The industry will need more than 100,000 additional workers by the end of the decade across all sectors of construction. Domestic training and hiring alone will not offset these shortages. We must attract more trades from other countries.”
RESCON outlined this position in a federal pre-budget submission sent recently to the Standing Committee on Finance. The submission details crucial actions to address housing supply and affordability issues.
On immigration, RESCON wants the government to grant greater autonomy to Ontario and establish a separate program stream for skilled construction workers. This would allow Ontario to identify eligible skilled workers and speed-up review and approvals of their residency applications.
The immigration system has disproportionately favoured applicants with formal education, certificates, language skills and financial resources, RESCON states. As it stands, voluntary trades in residential construction don’t require formal certificates, so foreign workers who are looking to come to Canada often don’t qualify.
Other recommendations include exempting the construction of residential buildings from HST, and re-establishing programs that eliminate taxes on profits of housing projects if the funds are reinvested into new ones.
Canada presently has the lowest amount of housing per capita and the highest cost of housing in the G7.
“Demand for housing in Ontario is not going away,” says Lyall. “If we are to build enough homes for our growing population, it is crucial that we take steps to welcome more immigrants with construction skills to Canada and help the industry reach that goal. The steps outlined by RESCON will ensure we have the necessary labour and incentivize builders to build the much-needed housing.”
