MPs across party lines are criticizing Calgary city council’s move to reject an expert task force’s recommendations to increase affordable housing.

On Tuesday, the Housing and Affordability Task Force put forward recommendations on how to deal with the housing affordability crisis, but councillors rejected the advice.

Federal Conservative housing critic Scott Aitchison said the recommendations would have made it easier to build the homes people need, but “gatekeepers” stood in the way. 

“Conservatives will reward actual home building,” he said. 

The former leadership contender took aim at city council for rejecting the proposal but then passing an “action plan” to receive their share of the $4 billion in federal money promised to municipalities who take action on affordable housing. 

“The Liberal Housing Accelerator Fund is nothing more than a slush fund for municipalities and gatekeepers,” Aitchison said. 

“Municipalities will get federal money, give it to the Department of No (Planning Department) then continue to block the local reforms that will actually add housing supply.” 

The task force brought forward its six main recommendations, which included 33 actions. The main six recommendations sought to make it easier to build housing across the city and make more city land available for construction.

The 33 specific actions called on council to take action, including removing all minimum parking requirements in residential areas and to establish financial incentive programs that would drive the production of more secondary suites.

Councillors took issue with a zoning recommendation which would allow for the construction of rowhouses, townhouses, duplexes, semi-detached and cottage housing clusters in more areas.

“I think there’s absolutely no way that I could convince my communities to support that major of a change,” said Coun. Andre Chabot. 

Coun. Sonya Sharp said, “It’s a leap to think we should just accept the expert recommendations with no further debate on what it all means, on whether Calgarians support those recommendations.”

“It’s not about the money and it’s not disagreeing that we should do something,” she added. 

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek declined a motion in which some councillors requested to call four recommendations surrounding the motion separately, which would have allowed council to receive the report without directing city administration to begin the work. 

The motion failed on an 8-7 split, with councillors Chabot, Sharp, Dan McLean, Richard Pootmans, Jennifer Wyness, Terry Wong, Peter Demong and Sean Chu opposed.

The Conservative MP for Calgary Nose Hill, Michelle Rempel Garner, said she represents the same suburban constituents as councillors who voted against the proposal.

“We need to build support for more housing, not vote against it,” she wrote on Twitter.

“Courage & leadership is needed. This vote result is not that. I’m disappointed in you.”

Liberal MP for Calgary Skyview George Chahal said it’s “disheartening” that city council rejected the recommendations. He said it’s made worse by the fact the eight councillors voted against the proposal while voting in favour of a costly arena deal. 

Chahal also called Aitchison’s criticism of the government’s housing fund “misguided partisan rhetoric.” 

“The issue of affordable housing is a nationwide concern, and the federal government is willing to corroborate with municipalities through our $4-billion Housing Accelerator Fund,” he wrote in a statement. 

“However, we should not reward municipalities that aren’t willing to come to the table.”

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  • Rachel Parker

    Rachel is a seasoned political reporter who’s covered government institutions from a variety of levels. A Carleton University journalism graduate, she was a multimedia reporter for three local Niagara newspapers. Her work has been published in the Toronto Star. Rachel was the inaugural recipient of the Political Matters internship, placing her at The Globe and Mail’s parliamentary bureau. She spent three years covering the federal government for iPolitics. Rachel is the Alberta correspondent for True North based in Edmonton.

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