It’s safe to say that all of us are looking forward to some well-deserved rest and reprieve during this holiday season. It’s been a tough year for this industry with relentless change, charges and (the lack of) collaboration with municipal governments but even in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge does eventually change his ways.
As mentioned in previous Monday Morning Briefings and GRUs, HAVAN has been outspoken in the media about how layered government fees and lack of in-stream protections have escalated to the point where our region (although not isolated to just the Metro Vancouver area) is in a crisis of delivery not just a crisis of affordability. Amplifying messages from our development community is getting noticed, and there have been conversations at city halls about re-examining when DCCs are collected, although the central issue is still around the cost per door. This will remain a priority in 2025, and HAVAN will continue to advocate on members’ behalf to get housing built. As always, I invite you to share your challenges and wins with HAVAN by reaching out to me, wendy@havan.ca.
As promised, the pre-release of our Measure Twice, Cut Once podcast two-part episode with the Honourable Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs was posted today on HAVAN’s YouTube channel @HAVAN.official, and I invite you to take a look/listen below. This two-part episode is part of HAVAN’s 50th-anniversary special series where I speak to thought leaders and key stakeholders in the housing sector to tackle the pressing challenges of the housing crisis. The new podcast season will be released in 2025, so stay tuned for future episodes.
Measure Twice, Cut Once: Ep 73 Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Update – Part 1, and Part 2.
SAVE THE DATES
Kicking off the new year are two key dates in January you want to mark in your calendars:
1. HAVAN Awards Call for Entries deadline – Tuesday, January 21 at 4 p.m.
2. Legends of Housing: Trailblazers – Thursday, January 30 at 5:30 p.m.
Tickets are now available for this year’s stellar line-up of industry’s trailblazers: Brad Jones, Senior Vice President of Development, Wesgroup Properties, Brittany Reimer, Executive VP and Managing Director, MLA Canada and MLA Fraser Valley, and Justin Bontkes, Founder & President, Caliber Projects. Select sponsorships still remain, email justine@havan.ca for details.
Since you are already saving dates in your 2025 calendar, make sure to look at the 2025 HAVAN events line-up. This webpage is always being updated so make sure to bookmark it.
This is the last Monday Morning Briefing of 2024. From all of us at HAVAN, we wish you a happy and safe holiday season, and a prosperous New Year. We appreciate your continued support and involvement in this association — we are stronger when we work together as a united voice.
HAVAN’s annual Christmas card will be sent out to members via email this Friday.
OFFICE CLOSURE: HAVAN office will be closed from Monday, December 23 and will re-open on Monday, January 6. Happy Holidays!
HAVAN continues to work with CHBA BC and CHBA to advocate for all levels of government to work together to address the challenges of the housing industry including zoning restrictions, density limits, and NIMBYism.
Looking to stay up-to-date on Metro Vancouver’s residential housing industry? Sign up for Wendy’s weekly Monday Morning Briefing and other HAVAN emails here.
QUICK BITES …
- Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland resigns from cabinet hours before fiscal update (globalnews.ca). Read her resignation letter.
- At a news conference this morning, Infrastructure and Housing Minister Sean Fraser announced he will not seek re-election and will leave the federal cabinet during the next shuffle. (CBC.ca)
- CMHC: November Housing starts rise from last month, up 8% in November but “…Canada still needs major increases in supply growth to restore affordability in our urban centres.” said Mathieu Laberge, CMHC’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President, Market Insights.
