THUNDER BAY – Political parties don’t agree on much these days.
But local candidates fighting for seats in the upcoming federal election can agree on one thing – a one-size-fits-all approach to affordable housing does not work, especially in Northwestern Ontario.
Thunder Bay-Superior North and Thunder Bay-Rainy River candidates representing the Conservatives, Greens, Liberals and NDP gathered on Thursday to answer questions posed by the Thunder Bay Real Estate board.
The would-be politicians all agreed the mortgage stress test, which determines whether or not a potential homebuyer qualifies for a loan, should not be applied across the board, equating Thunder Bay or Fort Frances with Calgary or Vancouver.
“The standards that are set impact the fact that the housing market has become a barrier and we need to help people realize their goals of owning a home,” said NDP hopeful Yuk-Sem Won, running for the open seat in Thunder Bay-Rainy River.
“In a country as big as Canada, there are different realities in each region and each community that needs to be taken into consideration. Having standards that are set in the metropolis centres and applied to our communities does not respect our needs and leaves too many of us behind.”
Fellow NDP candidate Anna Betty Achneepineskum agreed.
“We need to be recognized for the region that we are in and ensure that those policies fit within for our citizens and also that we have those opportunities for those reinvestments to stay within our region,” she said.
Thunder Bay-Superior North Liberal incumbent Patty Hajdu said stress tests are important, to ensure people don’t borrow too much, get in over their heads and lose their homes, something she almost experienced in her younger days.
“Having said that, there’s always room to improve policy. I think the idea of regional variances in terms of stress tests is an important consideration and I’d be happy to take that back to Ottawa if I’m re-elected and argue that we do need to be making sure what we put into place doesn’t somehow dis-incentivize Northern Ontario or other regional parts of the country,” Hajdu said.
Green Party candidate Bruce Hyer, looking to take back the Thunder Bay-Superior North seat he lost four years ago, was blunt in his assessment of the stress tests.
“I think they’re nuts,” said Hyer, who would fight to bring back 30-year mortgages and increase the first-time homebuyers tax credit to $5,000.
“They were nuts, they are nuts. It’s too high and it’s blocking a huge number of people from moving from renting to buying that first home or renewing their mortgages. We certainly shouldn’t be requiring it of mortgage renewals.
Hyer’s Conservative opponent, former Coun. Frank Pullia, said all real estate is local.
“And just as real estate markets vary across the country, so should the policies and programs that affects this housing market ... Our needs are different from the big city and the stress test is ironic – and my Liberal opponent is defending the stress test,” Pullia said.
“It may be suited for a large centre like Toronto, Calgary or Vancouver, but it’s hurting our ability for first-time mortgages to qualify. It’s increasing the borrowing cost.”
Thunder Bay-Rainy River Green Party candidate Amanda Moddejonge said the current rules do nothing to encourage or help home ownership or renting out empty units.
She said the Greens would remove the deemed GST when developers with empty condo units puts them up for rent.
“We will also appoint a minster of housing to strengthen the national housing strategy, so that it meets the need for affordable housing that are unique to each province and oversees implementation in collaboration with provincial ministers. The target would be 25,000 new and 15,000 rehabilitated units annually over the next 10 years,” Moddejonge said.
Liberal Marcus Powlowski said flexibility in the stress test is probably the way to go, noting that a $200,000 mortgage is not the same as buying a million-dollar home. However, he did later say that the best way to pay off a mortgage is to do it in five years, when discussing the idea of reinstituting 30-year mortgage limits.
