Housing crisis vs. immigration: Is it time to slow things down?

[@CBCTheNational]

We’ve opened comments on this video to hear your ideas and experiences related to this story. Comments remain closed on other videos to try to reduce harm to the subjects of our content, our staff and the audience.

[@kloosternator]

If you can’t handle comments on your story’s change your organization from news to opinion

[@mcthunderstick2374]

@@kloosternator100% agreed. Tired of our publicly funded broadcaster blocking public opinion on their videos.

[@Krush11]

you only limit the comments of logical canadians. thats ok though.

[@KateLicker]

to reduce harm? ROFLMAO...to try to suppress unwoke truth-telling, you mean..boring..

[@KateLicker]

well, tbh, opinion will attract opinion-comments as well..@@kloosternator

[@johncasey5594]

Immigration should be and always should have been indexed to Canada's ability to build new houses.

[@DavidMcCalister]

It would also be great if when we realized there are lots of issues in the world and brining more people to our country would be good to help... we set out a plan to build more houses for them. Thing is our housing struggle is entirely artificial... entirely based on regulation and fees which sits squarely on the municipal and federal level over the last 8 years.

[@johncasey5594]

@@DavidMcCalister I don't see why it is our problem. If there are issues around the world, people should fix them. No one want's to leave their home land and start over in a country that is foreign to them. Furthermore if there are religious/ideological issues in their countries, they tend to bring them with them.

[@Demo4657]

@@johncasey5594 And what happens when Canada has contributed to those problems and conditions elsewhere that people have to escape? Suddenly accountability isn't a Canadian value

[@CarlingOV]

immigration should have always been tied to economic needs of the country

[@maxineporter8848]

If the demographic statistics decades ago would have predicted a shortage of workers in critical areas, and its related shortage of housing,, then governments should have planned for this much earlier. Especially in critical service sectors such as health care, building trades. We wait far too long to acknowldege a looming problem. There could have been other measures done apart from a huge number of newcomers....incentives to keep workers on the job longer/delay of public pensions. The fact is we ARE on average, living longer, and therefore would have a longer period of retirement. The Canadian economy is NOT going to crash if there were a revision to lower immigration. We should only take in newcomers to the extent that a housing "structure" is available for them. On arrival. Tent cities in the middle of winter are unacceptable

[@NormanCays]

Mass (legal) immigration is causing labour shortage. To fill 1 carpenter job you bring a family of 5, who will eventually sponsored parents and siblings. Now you need more doctors, teachers, roads, shelters, food etc. The solution is to make it affordable for families here to have children.

[@alanj9978]

Exactly. All you're doing by bringing in immigrants is kicking the can. Their kids won't be able to afford to have kids, either, so then they'll need even more immigrants.

[@05nautilus]

To make it affordable you have to cut costs and pay so that businesses can still make a profit and function

[@Pray4Mojo1]

​@@05nautilusthat's not necessarily true. Look at the large grocery chains right now. Miminium wage is high now, and they're still seeing record profits since the covid debacle. For small mom & pop store businesses a lower wage would help them to thrive, but not for chain stores or corporations.

[@justintrudoo]

There is no fixing housing without reducing immigration. There is no reducing immigration without reducing socialism. There's no reducing socialism without changing what most Canadians think Canada is. There's no fixing Canada. The only fix for young Canadians is to leave and learn from the failures of both Pierre and Justin Trudeau's ideologies. We don't have years to wait, the last generation of actual Canadians is 20-30 right now.

[@MahdiBanners]

What I understood from this discussion is that it is time for Canadians to immigrate to another country and leave Canada for the new deluge of new immigrants because no matter what solution is proposed the future of life in Canada will still be bleak.

[@jf7882]

It’s not just housing though. We need to fix housing, healthcare and existing social services that are degrading before we have aggressive immigration targets.

[@Lululululee]

But you can’t without migration. That is the issue lol

[@MrAlen6e]

All that requires resources and a working taxpayers, low world population and higher elderly means higher need for services but no enough taxpayers to cover those services. How will you solve that without immigration? Unless you begin to truly consider privatization of the pension system

[@yingyang1875]

Who's going back to school to become a doctor ? Highly doubt anyone over 25 would.

[@JaysonT975]

can't do that without immigrants lol, watch the video

[@MahdiBanners]

What I understood from this discussion is that it is time for Canadians to immigrate to another country and leave Canada for the new deluge of new immigrants because no matter what solution is proposed the future of life in Canada will still be bleak.

[@dave9527]

Hilarious. The left side of the table is a developer who has a vested interest in increasing house prices and scarcity, and an IT manager who has a vested interest in hiring cheap immigrant labour (and funnily argues that immigrants are building houses). Our entire economy is tied up in a real estate bubble, and it will be solved when no one wants to live here anymore.

[@plav032]

You do have a point.

[@da_revo5747]

Exactly

[@Gronmin]

The developer has a point in that if the government wants more houses built in a short time frame that's the only short term solution. But putting him next to a tech guy helps to dodge the massive abuses of the system by the tech industry

[@da_revo5747]

@@Gronmin it's not just the tech industry, every employer wants cheap labour.

[@dave9527]

@@Gronmin For this argument to hold water though I'd want to see immigrants producing more shelter than they consume. Obviously not the case, so unless we change the qualifications drastically, math says no.

[@ku9145]

One thing to consider, if some people have not realized, is that the largest Canadian colleges (not universities) are essentially diploma mills that bring in hundreds of thousands of international students into the country each year. A lot of these 1-to-2-year college diplomas are just a piece of paper, with many classes consisting of 70%+ international students. As a second-generation immigrant, I favor halting "student visas" which some politicians have suggested. The cost of giving oligarchs their much loved cheap labor to work under horrible conditions is a price everyone is paying dearly for. It lowers salaries across the board, makes standard work conditions worse, and promotes fraud, all because desperate, entitled people, sometimes lying on their application and pretending to be students, will accept anything to stay or become PRs. International students may pay taxes and subsidize domestic tuition but the broader long term economic implications they have is contributing to the crises we're experiencing in this country. If we're going to allow more immigrants, we need more skilled labour or people who will pursue something actually useful, and who will actually integrate with the rest of Canadian society. "Leaders" and politicians are just as much to blame if not more.

[@Doug-zl8nb]

The skilled workers that the government are bringing in from other countries are massive crimes that are coming into canada

[@krzysztofkowalski2816]

No more immigrants. There is literally no room. Most of the homeless are doctors,media, bankers, and educated people. If you are escaping conflict head south. Unless more homes to actually live in are available. But due to dumb building regulations, all is need is one competent engineer/whoever bossing the rest on how to build simple homes.

[@aalampara7853]

Colleges shouldn’t be allowed to bring in International Students! Period! Let International Students come to University!! And leave after their study is over!!

[@Ravikumar1962]

The crisis is not because of educated immigrants. The crisis is because of illegal refugees / immigrants are increasing in Canada living on free of government cost

[@Si-no-si-no-si-no]

I used to be a hiring manager and learned pretty quickly that these diploma mills are in no way providing a solid education to these students. Their language skills are poor, they have no meaningful experience, and in many cases, they cannot perform the fundamental tasks. I also learned that if you willing to lie, cheat, and steal for a PR, you’re willing to do the same thing in the workplace.

[@richardramfire3971]

We’re importing Uber drivers and Tim Horton cashiers. The country needs construction workers, welders , plumbers etc

[@ComradeQuestion091]

The Tim Hortons cashiers and Uber drivers have professional degrees...and the workers you're asking for are coming but aren't allowed to work for one reason or another (e.g. employers are unwilling to spend 3 to 6 months training someone to adjust to the Canadian work methods)

[@brookerobitaille745]

Agree with Edward

[@Doug-zl8nb]

Government is bringing in skilled workers and the crime has increased massive hang on for the ride

[@ceoofgambling233]

@@ComradeQuestion091a lot of them are no good and don’t want to try and be good

[@ahhmm5381]

@@ComradeQuestion091 If employers are unwilling to train them, they don't really need them.

[@gfutube1]

Let’s have an immigration stop for 5 years and see what happens.

[@mothball2802]

It stopped for a few months during the pandemic and Trudeau was sweating and twitching profusely, and tripled the numbers the year after. This won't stop.

[@Robert-zx2df]

Higher income , lower housing

[@smellyelly5940]

@@Robert-zx2df Higher income leads to businesses raising prices, making houses again unaffordable. That is a lazy solution. This is a complex issue that requires a complicated answer. This housing issue has been here before mass immigration. Blaming immigrants is also a wrong and lazy way to put blame. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJvCdXSMlt12aMUsi=Af3gVu_r-MjV91ZS The problem is much bigger, and it's not immigrants.

[@daheinz27]

@@Robert-zx2df and higher taxes to pay for social housing.

[@wise5674]

It's always easy for societies to blame immigration when there are economic problems because most people are not experts on the economy to be able to identify other reasons for the problems. Stop immigration for 5 years and you'd just have the same problems for 5 more years but with less companies setting up in Canada as Canada would lose its economic advantage as a major talent hub.

[@sunrisevideo7687]

The woman in pink made an excellent point. For some it’s not about not wanting a child or being a fit parent but can you give that child a good quality of life especially compared to the quality of life we once had. I’d add, what kind of future is there for those kids and how will they afford to live!

[@jvssocialmedia2459]

Reality is that you will be paying for a refugee who has ten kids, just take the leap and have kids yourself. They don't need to have everything you had. More important to just have a family. It's amazing that people in other countries know about the freebies given to lower income families (cars, hoising, benefits, etc.) but Canadians don't realize we have such tax-payer funded programs, or that freeloaders target Canada bc of them.

[@daviddvorak7067]

It shouldn't take 5 years to train someone to build a house. If there isn't enough skilled labour to build homes in Canada, then maybe the wages are too low. If the housing crisis is getting worse because of too high immigration, then it only makes sense to take the foot off the accelerator and give time for the housing supply to catch up.

[@alanj9978]

Have you seen any provincial building code? They're enormous. And that's after the skilled labor already knows how to do their parts of the job. It takes about that long just to become a licensed electrician, among other things. And, you know, they can't do much unless they're fluent in English.

[@MrAlen6e]

The red tape in housing is ridiculous in Canada, urban planning and zoning its outdated for at least 40 years . Canada is having the German issue when it comes to bureaucratic processes.

[@mendoza4789]

the wages are way to low. its hard on the body so it should paid well to compensate

[@jandp2941]

Exactly! They should not bring more immigrants who don’t even have Canadian experience, but train people who are already here to do the job

[@aaz1992]

That's not their intention

[@icantwiththis]

Why is immigration the ONLY way to sustain our economy? And why is this idea always repeated and never challenged?

[@RavenRuled]

Good point. It seems like a pyramid scheme. Why do u need another 500k when the 500k that came the previous year was supposed to fix everything? There are videos of immigrants who are leaving Canada so need to work on retention.

[@gurirandhawa8301]

Good point❤

[@opencommentsbbcnewsnight1704]

@icantwiththis It isn't. Canada's enemies (like China and Russia) want mass immigration because it destabilises a country.

[@GabrielAlvarez-y5v]

Four reasons: Big, unpopulated, very cold and relatively young territory.

[@MegaAvalonn]

It's a pyramid scheme, we need immigrants to build houses to house more immigrants. We need immigrants to fund the pensions of those same immigrants when they get older. It's a ridiculous and circular argument, and quite frankly, it reminds me of the similar debates they had in the past regarding the abolishment of slavery. We need slaves, so the slaves can pick the crops, so that we don't starve and the slaves don't starve. Rubbish.

[@nickjohnston3882]

Who voted for this volume of immigration? Who voted for the majority of the immigration coming from India, and a specific region of India?

[@Robbielazar]

Great question

[@zokizoran]

Really great question

[@sarath2309]

It's cuz half of ur MPs and ministers are from Sikh community. Many of them sympathize with Khalistan. They might soon carve Surrey out of BC, Brampton out of Ontario and declare it as Khalistan.

[@theonh9365]

Isn’t it a provincial problem? So far, I don’t see many Indians in Gatineau, Laval Sherbrooke or Quebec City. It’s increasing in Montreal, but they are all temporary students for now. They say because Africans speaks French, Quebec welcomes Africans a lot more. So maybe Ontario loves Indians because you guys share the same language and the same British culture or maybe decoupling from China means being the best partner with India.

[@alexsmith-ob3lu]

High housing prices tend to benefit many in key positions of the economy. For starters, governments get more property tax revenue with high housing prices, insurance companies earn more money, developers earn more profit, real estate agents earn larger commissions, and you can be a terrible contractor in a high housing market because of so much speculation. The only people this does not benefit are the poor, renters and the younger generations coming up.

[@Nicole-xd1uj]

Finally someone in the mainstream media is talking about this....excellent format to discuss the issue. One thing that struck me was how the tech person thought that the number of 1.3% of the population being immigrants wasn't a big deal....it's a huge number of people who have to completely start a new life and need access to all of our services and infrastructure.

[@mothball2802]

It's far far greater than 1.3%, these gaslighters don't mention the influx of temporary foreign workers and international students A MILLION OF THEM A YEAR, all STAY once their studies are done.

[@GLangford]

It's also misleading immigrants are about 1/3 of newcomers with student/work visa holders and refugees not being counted.

[@backwooddesignco]

Too little, too late. It’s far too late for MSM to be reporting on this. The damage is done. Even if they stopped letting anyone in. It’s far too late

[@justacoolguy1]

Time to slow down was about 5-7 years ago. Today is time to put a full stop until our infrastructure can catch up.

[@kentdean3726]

We have to ease back on immigration and allow the system to catch up to the numbers of people already here. As for the continued flow of immigration after easing back, prioritize it to builders and healthcare workers to address the immediate need and allowing the strain to come off the system, all the while training Canadians for these vocations.

[@sehmanjitsinghmalhi4730]

Exactly!

[@Bhavikh]

Ease back immigration and the whole system will collapse. The truth is that we are living in a Ponzi scheme.

[@johncam8420]

I have commented this above, but it is concerning to me that our companies are more than willing in ignoring the investment in local talent. Here is my full comment: It is also disappointing to me that in this segment there are Canadian companies, that instead of investing on our own kids/graduates from University or trades colleges, are willing to accept questionably "experienced" workers from foreign countries. I know so many tech graduates unable to find jobs, meanwhile this IT manager is accepting foreigners with questionable "experience". There should be a minimum mandate on how many local graduates a company needs to take for a position for each foreigner in that position. Otherwise, this is just an avenue for the exploitation of local and foreign tech workers. Articles already state they make 46% less in Canada than we do in the US. It is pretty clear this is being used as an excuse for wage suppression.

[@ahhmm5381]

​@@johncam8420 Yeah. Provinces don't want to spend money on education. The fact university/college isn't free is absurd. Canadian companies are also to blame, complaining about a non-existent labor shortage to get more foreign workers. The provinces/feds falling for it would be comical if it weren't so destructive.

[@debbanks8183]

In Alberta we keep getting told there aren't enough nurses; for the last 10 years though it seems the competitive average grade required to get into the RN program is over 90%. A student who achieved grades under 90% can't become a good nurse? BS

[@Bleebleeblahblahblah]

The woman in pink is the only one making sense.

[@jacktoulouse5390]

She’s the under 40 crowd who know throwing more and more people into the country will not resolve anything when we already have a massive deficit of housing. The two guys are just “but my cheap labour!” 😂 They could care less if that labour is sleeping in a tent.

[@xHaRm51]

Agreed. Glad she called out the chicken and egg problem with construction

[@jacktoulouse5390]

@@xHaRm51 It’s not even a chicken and egg problem. Employers might want labour all they want - but if housing doesn’t exist for more labour to move into, you can’t have the labour. Large amounts of housing have to get built first, before any large scale immigration can occur.

[@mothball2802]

She probably voted Trudeau tho.

[@Numenorean921]

the developer conflated targeted immigration with overall immigration tech bro and economist just repeated liberal party buzzwords blue shirt woman had bad arguments woman in pink was the only one there with a brain

[@videosandphotoslide7866]

I migrated to Canada 53 years ago but things have changed especially in immigration. Politicians have eyes closed open-door immigration policy. Crises all the way around not just a housing. Very poor management of the Country from all three levels of Government. Especially looking after Canadians and helping them. Everyone is saying the labour shortage than why so many Canadians are on welfare?🤔

[@EducatedLabor]

Basically now the modern canadian trend is to hire foreign contractors and give welfare to canadian citizens

[@truth6612]

This conversation was fantastic and needs to continue. My daughter who just started College and I have these conversations often. Unfortunately the above program only touched on the demmographic crisis. When I was in highschool in the 1980's there were roughly 10 different highschools in my community. Now there are only 4. Back in the 80's, all of the minimum wage service type jobs across the city were either highschool or post secondary students. Now those same jobs are nearly all filled by foreign students. It's scary to say, but if it weren't for all of the foreign students at the local College and University, much of the local service sector would collapse. Now that we're in this mess, governments are in crisis mode, because they don't have a clue about planning ahead of the next election.

[@johncam8420]

I have commented this above, but it is concerning to me that our companies are more than willing in ignoring the investment in local talent. Here is my full comment: It is also disappointing to me that in this segment there are Canadian companies, that instead of investing on our own kids/graduates from University or trades colleges, are willing to accept questionably "experienced" workers from foreign countries. I know so many tech graduates unable to find jobs, meanwhile this IT manager is accepting foreigners with questionable "experience". There should be a minimum mandate on how many local graduates a company needs to take for a position for each foreigner in that position. Otherwise, this is just an avenue for the exploitation of local and foreign tech workers. Articles already state they make 46% less in Canada than we do in the US. It is pretty clear this is being used as an excuse for wage suppression.

[@harrisn3693]

Just deport the foreign students

[@tinthings314]

People need to wonder WHY young canadians aren't having kids.. Solve the root cause of the problem.

[@palmdodo]

And it is fascinating to see how pro-immigration side shifted the topic of debate from “slow down immigration” to “do we want immigration”. We all agree that the country needs immigration, but pouring in millions of people without accommodation of housing is absolutely insane and reckless. 😅obviously, liberals won’t give a solution on that

[@jzou1030]

Problem is you can pre build all that house for a million immigrants before they come, what I am wondering is how can we encourage newcomers or young families to accept living in high rise, how can we make this as a community to attract them. There will never be enough single detached houses built for those younger generations and the expanding of the city will only drive all costs up. It is a norm to live in high rise all over the world. Why Canada has to be the exception? We are talking about housing crisis, the goal is to give them an affordable place to live, not to ensure everyone a luxury residence.

[@dr-johnnysins]

@@jzou1030idk what youre saying but if youre suggesting we just up and “build more houses” youre out of your mind lmao. Thats just not how it works my man

[@joethepotato972]

@@jzou1030 awful take. Not everyone wants to live in high rises outside of overpopulated hell holes.

[@adamn2515]

No, we dont stop all immigrants coming in and fix this country. But it's the canadian way , we want there money.... we are all f'ed!

[@Numenorean921]

they are liars and fools, no one is saying we don't want any immigration.

[@postcardstotheedge]

That there are not enough trades people in Canada should come as no surprise. Both federal & provincial gov'ts have known about this for at least 3 decades. No initiatives for encouraging people into a good paying honorable profession, the trades. They are still not getting it.

[@tylerdurden8378]

I have two uni degrees but am a tradesperson after working a "middle class professional" office job when I was younger. The fact is tradesmen are looked down upon in our society and this problem spans generations. Especially if you are working for wealthier clients there is a real habit of them talking down to you. Sometimes when this happens I will find a way to let them know I was in university for 7 years. After, their tone completely changes to one of dealing with an equal rather than a type of servant.

[@thanos834]

Cbc might be having this conversation 10 years too late

[@kabirgaba6641]

It's definitely better than working at MacDonald or Walmart for you entire life

[@lenadahling]

Because they don't pay enough for the hazard.

[@MrAlen6e]

@@thanos834 both the government and its population are having this conversation 20 years late , experts have been warning for years but here we are

[@ThumbnailGrail]

I'm glad to see conversations are getting on the news about this. I still feel hopeless. I'm making the best money I've ever made (at 34) and still in debt and not sure how to pay it off without selling all my possessions, moving to another province, and making it extra hard to be near my aging family. I keep having friends who work in manufacturing committing suicide, I can't say why for certain, but it's hard to make ends meet, and it's hard to be able to afford therapy, and it's hard just existing, much less thriving in todays Canada.

[@brainbuster741]

I Agree, but I have a PhD from UK and still Doing minimal jobs. Why are we getting highly skilled immigrants and then making them feel little, get the best talent in the country.

[@Doug-zl8nb]

You cross the border into United States from Canada. Come back to canada and put your funny little hat on that trudeau wears ..then u get lots of money per month as a immigrant

[@johncam8420]

We need many more conversations on this. This is just the first I have seen. Canada's immigration policies are a net failure for Canadians living here. And especially, for tech workers and construction workers - as they will be sold to compete with foreigners for terrible pay.

[@gcc8584]

Have you tried canceling your Disney+ subscription? Chrystia says that will make everything better.

[@andrewjaniec5599]

I doscourage anyone to emigrate to Canada. Life in Canda is very difficult. Cost of living very high. Thete have been difficulties in finding employment here since the beginning. Difficult and very unfrendly climat. Not being able to buy your own house because of the crazy prices. A mix of nationalities that devides peopke in the neighbourhood and at work. For the last 8 years, the government has done nothing to help its own citizens. Canadians' social finances are taken out of thr country to help citizens of other countries, not us. The country is falling into ruin and politicians only talk and do nothing to improve the situation of society and the country's image on the international arena. Potential emigrants to Canada; ... do not come here because Canada is just a myth.

[@HugoBergmann-lu4nd]

Housing prices are unlikely to significantly decrease until there's a substantial increase in housing supply. In the USA , there's a shortage of millions of housing units, and construction isn't keeping pace. The constant demand for housing, coupled with population growth, means that even a slight price drop attracts numerous buyers who quickly absorb the available supply. I'm considering purchasing affordable houses in 2024 and possibly venturing into stock investments. When is the best time to enter the stock market? Some people say it is profitable , but others say it's risky. Any advice?

[@StocksWolf752]

Consider investing in stocks especially during a recession . While recessions can be tough, they can also offer good chances to buy low and sell high in the markets if you're cautious. Just remember, this is not financial advice, but it's a good time to think about buying stocks since having cash on hand isn't always the best option.

[@cowell621]

Accurate asset allocation is crucial. Some use hedging or defensive assets in their portfolio for market downturns. Seeking financial advice is vital. This approach has kept me financially secure for over five years, with a return on investment of nearly $1 million.

[@LiaStrings]

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[@cowell621]

Rebecca Nassar Dunne maintains an online presence that can be easily found through a simple search of her name on the internet.

[@VictorBiggerstaff]

I just curiously searched her up, and I have sent her an email. I hope she gets back to me soon. Thank you

[@Aiken652]

Many have noticed that the problem isn't a lack of people in trades, but it's more about companies trying to make more money by hiring cheap workers. It's really important to support and train local workers, working closely with trade schools, implementing penalties for developers who disregard local hiring or take on apprentices. Bringing more people is not a solution to fix our local issues.

[@alexsmith-ob3lu]

You hire cheap workers, you get cheap and bad quality results. Simple as that. High quality will always be expensive.

[@opencommentsbbcnewsnight1704]

@Aiken652 Correct. The labour movement of the early 20th century was opposed to mass immigration, as it destroys the living standards of working people.

[@alexsmith-ob3lu]

@@opencommentsbbcnewsnight1704 Yes and no in regards to "mass immigration." Immigration back in the early 20th century was done incrementally and in line with what the local/national economy needed. Canada/USA absorbed many Germans, Poles, Ukrainians, Italians, Scandinavians etc. because an industrial economy is very inclusive and requires large amounts of competent labor. With massive deindustrialization in recent decades, there is no need for that many people because there are hardly any jobs to go around.

[@aalampara7853]

Exactly!! They want cheap labors at the cost of other tax paying Canadians

[@jaydee7464]

Lol that guy isn't concerned about the good of society at all. He's all about himself and his cheap labour

[@elizabethknisley917]

Unless you, as an immigrant, are bringing something to the table, that this country is in short supply of, then YES STOP THE INFLUX of more people. This influx puts a strain of all levels of healthcare, education, housing, etc. and Canadian born and veterans must come first.

[@arifa1407]

who else coming? who else coming? who else coming? are the good of the world coming NO, they go to the US, canada brings in the most vile sewage people that no one wants and no one takes, even if they have money no wants the worst garbage ever that lands only comes. so

[@Numenorean921]

that is what our immigration system used to do, now we bring in hordes of low IQ third worlders to pour coffee at tims.

[@anjieobasa1871]

And Canadian citizens in general.

[@christiann-pl1yo]

There needs to be some common, ordinary folk on a panel like this, not just experts. Listen to what the average Canadian has to say because these are the voices that are not being represented in government and the media. Immigration is absolutely devastating this country.

[@p0ison1vy]

... What? There was literally only one expert on this panel, the 4 debaters were ordinary people...

[@jayc6208]

No, the two women were ordinary people. The construction guy is a developer who has a vested interest in housing scarcity and the IT guy runs a company that literally relies on cheap immigrant labour to make all his wealth.

[@johncam8420]

@@jayc6208 Yup, 2 people with stuff to gain and an "expert" who is an ideologue. 3 v 2, while the 2 also have to be careful in not being offensive, oh and the ideologue gets the last word. Pretty fair and unbiased journalism here guys (LOL).

[@Riggsnic_co]

In my opinion, a housing market crash is imminent due to the high number of individuals who purchased homes above the asking price despite the low interest rates. These buyers find themselves in precarious situations as housing prices decline, leaving them without any equity. If they become unable to afford their homes, foreclosure becomes a likely outcome. Even attempting to sell would not yield any profits. This scenario is expected to impact a significant number of people, particularly in light of the anticipated surge in layoffs and the rapid increase in the cost of living.

[@bob.weaver72]

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[@Will.iam6693]

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[@andreap9412]

My son recently graduated the electrician training program at our local community college. A part of the program was that the college was to find each student a coop placement. They were only able to do so with half of the students. He has had a horrible time trying to find a job and has been largely unsuccessful as most companies want an apprentice with 2 to 3 years experience. There were others in his program in the same boat and they have reverted to fast food and retail jobs while they continue to try and find work as an electrician.

[@snowwhite2709]

My daughter's a carpenters apprentice and can't get a sponsor and currently has no job. I'm tired of the whole we need trades people speel. My daughter has many in her trade class and the union, who are looking for work. Somewhere along the lines, something doesn't equate. Why are they calling for the heed of trades people, but many do not have work or sponsors, wheres the missing link here?

[@debbanks8183]

This is so wrong, but yes I believe it, have heard similar anecdotally for years.

[@opencommentsbbcnewsnight1704]

@@snowwhite2709 What most Canadians don't understand is the high level of corruption in most third world countries (check an international corruption index of countries). The talk of a "labour shortage" is nonsense. The Harper government allowed companies to pay foreign workers less than minimum wage.

[@martymcfly1776]

@@snowwhite2709 I don't believe that there is a housing shortage. I believe the reality is that builders can't sell their houses because they're priced so high that nobody can afford them.

[@martingg1]

This is the classic catch 22 paradox of the job market and it's not only in trades. I work in tech as a software engineer and faced the exact same situation. I moved to Canada back in 2015 and it took me over 6 months to land a job because most companies only hire senior engineers with 3-5y of experience. During that time I had no option but to work in retail, restaurants, etc just to make ends meet. I'm not quite sure what the solution for this is but I think if companies had a training budged, that would be a good start.

[@Rainin90utside]

Slow down? They have to go back. This is a nightmare. One of the worst things I can imagine. I want my country back.

[@zeerem1726]

The first women with her comments are dead on !!! She is absolutely right. Left Canada and feel liberated for it.

[@khoyrulislam]

So you're an immigrant? 😂

[@13asingh]

​@@khoyrulislamso the solution is to become an immigrant yourself 😅

[@johncam8420]

Every time I visit a G7 country outside of Canada, I feel like a weight has been lifted off me. And I can dream big once again. Canada is over!

[@euphz9224]

Vancouver guy is the typical "I got mine" in Canada.

[@JanvanOordt]

I worked in the Canada Employment Centre in 1991. Even then, the government knew that we were heading into a future with huge shortages in the skilled trades. It would have been visionary to have built programs, and offered incentives for students to really look at a career in the trades...now we, as a country, all suffer for the shortage of such skilled people.

[@theonh9365]

the baby-boomers, they all discourage their kids to do that kinda job and it passes on. Everyone thinks it’s much nicer and more glamorous to be a flight attendant than a plumber.

[@BrianShaneRushton]

@@jwalksk Yeah, I remember this, they framed it in such a way that getting into trades was almost like giving up on your dreams. It was always presented as plan B or a compromise

[@Doug-zl8nb]

Most of the skilled trades are how to do scams and still cars. You gotta be proud of the government

[@conrump]

The problem is most young people don’t want to do any physical work or look down upon blue collar jobs even though most skilled trades easily pull in 6 figures or more in income once you’re licensed. I see it all around me. There’s still a negative stigma surrounding trades people as uneducated, rough around the edges type of person.

[@Doug-zl8nb]

Chabelas was skilled workers governments bringing in lots of crime

[@chrisrutledge9330]

Notice that those supporting larger immigration targets are always the comfortable, well jobbed, well housed - in no way impacted by the negatives that too high an intake of people is causing. Fee to theorize on population pyramids, and support endless knowledge worker intake while we lack the people that can build, manufacture and fix things.

[@sinceninetyeightysixgustof8122]

the real problem is companies don't want to pay a real wage you can live on that's why there are shortages in most things you up the wages and people will come out of the wood work another issue is alot of workers are putting there foot down on balance between work and home not everybody wants to be forced into working 60+ hrs a week anymore when it doesn't do much for your bottom end

[@KateLicker]

not sure if wages-prices spirals as an objective are the answer..

[@aaz1992]

60 hours a week? That's part time. Gotta work at least 80 😂

[@lenadahling]

​@@KateLickerNo such thing. It's a price gouging talking point.

[@mendoza4789]

great post

[@wadeyoung3680]

Yup companies make the big money and workers get nothing

[@joethi4981]

Canada has really deteriorated in the last 10 years. I don't know it anymore.

[@samg8012]

The homebuilder wants people from other countries to build his houses so that he doesnt have to train them. The problem is then we have thousands of people claiming to be a carpenter that have only ever built a home with zero oversight or training in the country thry came from. There is a reason building collapses in other countries are always in the news. They are just a bunch of people offthe street that are given a hammer and some nails to build a house for $10 a month. Fact is, in order to build homes safely and to code, one would have to train all of these "carpenters" immigrants from scratch. So, hire Canadians and train them instead. The home buikder sounds like he really doesnt want to be bothered trainig anyone. He just wants the fast and easy people who mostly just lie about what they can do. The trades people need to step up, as do the schools. Example is auto mechanic. Really just one college location in ontario that offers it. Trades education needs to seriously be expanded. Ford had the right idea by offering trades training at little to no tuition. The other problem of course, being that most of the younger generation do not want to do physical labour at all. They want an easy work from home 10-3 job.

[@mendoza4789]

the house builder needs to stop whining that there are no qualified people and put that energy into TRAINING people to do those jobs with government help. and train people in a non abusive or exploitive way aswell. And the trained person at the end needs to compensated with a job that pays an actual living wage that can buy a house and raise a family. you know like it used to be. that in itself will raise the birth rate that the globalists use as an excuse for mass migration. we dont have a labour shortage we have a living wage shortage and ethical employer shortage.

[@lenadahling]

No one wants to work for peanuts. And peanuts is all anyone's offering these days.

[@jmak7622]

The really needed to have more push back with the immigration question. Lots of unanswered questions. The pro immigration side barely made a point and yet it seemed like that was the side cbc was pushing by bringing on their “expert.”

[@Kenandlizabeehaven]

The code that's the problem. When I was a youngster I Bang nails for a few months. Didn't like it,today I would have to go to school and waste all that time. And money and be part of the problem.

[@ahhmm5381]

Does Ontario actually offer trades education for free? I believe not

[@AnirimaGhosh]

As an Indian saying this Canada should stop PR for few years. Close down private colleges for profit and bring a balance in housing and healthcare. Lots of Indian students just waste a lot of money for these colleges in Canada which is a huge drain on our resources.

[@VonTurtle8282]

It is ridiculous the property developer was allowed on this panel it is directly in his interests to keep wages low by importing ever growing numbers of tradesmen from overseas increasing the demand for housing that he will happily accept the contracts for and them complain that he cannot find the labour to fulfil the massive contracts he is accepting and the cycle repeats. Immigration is never going to solve our "demographic crisis" if new immigrants have the same number of children as other Canadians when they arrive. Canada should focus on creating the conditions for people to have children and not be crushed by the expense and right now the number 1 obstacle housing. and that is never going to be helped by almost 30,000 people arriving every month. the cleat answer is scale back on the numbers significantly focus on brining in the skilled people we need, putting pressure on the labour markets to increase wages and take pressure off housing prices.

[@mendoza4789]

good post turtle the house builder needs to stop whining that there are no qualified people and put that energy into TRAINING people to do those jobs with government help. and train people in a non abusive or exploitive way aswell. And the trained person at the end needs to compensated with a job that pays an actual living wage that can buy a house and raise a family. you know like it used to be. that in itself will raise the birth rate that the globalists use as an excuse for mass migration. we dont have a labour shortage we have a living wage shortage and ethical employer shortage.

[@lenadahling]

This. ☝🏻💯👏🏻

[@joseledesma4776]

The question is: why should we NOT slow down immigration?

[@Marvin_Jones]

It’s the first time that I see the comment section enable in this channel. They really want to know how Canadians feels about this issue. Bringing all these people in is deteriorating the country.

[@justintrudoo]

It will just lead to reports about how to re-educate Canadians instead of actually doing what we want and reducing immigration.

[@davidsimpson7373]

The housing builders contradicted themselves. "We need to bring in immigrants and cannot afford to lower the numbers" and "the immigrants are furniture makers and are not carpenters" so not qualified. Does not sound like immigration is solving the problem of lack of suitably qualified trades. And they are "all" ending up in Toronto and not dispersing throughout the country. The housing problem will not be solved until these business leaders invest in domestic skills development. Not intended to be a criticism, just a statement of reality. They want more qualified trades, what are they doing to "grow" more local trades. There are lots of people unemployed or young adults looking for a future.

[@carocarochan]

Of course, we need to slow things down!!

[@plav032]

Trades also need to step up and be more competitive. A lot of trades are flat out pushing skilled people away because of staff shortages, lack of compensation, and burn out. We need more incentives to lure people into trades, wages have not kept up with inflation, but companies are raking it in.

[@Ekowal1965]

From what I hear we have 500 000 international students here. They all are on this joke. They know that it is just a scam to get residency right ? AND yet they take useless courses like food service or my favourite "International Business". LOL. Just ask them, what they study ? They are forced into indentured full time jobs to pay huge tuition fees. Where is tat money gone. This whole country has become mafia like scam with Justin at the top

[@JohnDeer-x6f]

Preach. Couldn't agree more. Don't go hiring cheaper labor then displace the current employees.

[@pierremitham2964]

When my father came to Canada in the early 60's from Britain, even he was told that where he was to go initially. He spent his first few years in Canada in Winnipeg (not really by choice) he did move to Montreal after, and then Toronto. Not sure why its such a forbidden suggestion now!

[@shivarahimipiano]

Let's just make sure Canadians who are already in Canada can find and afford a home before bringing in more people to Canada. Slow down on immigration until the housing crisis is no longer an issue. Please this is simple!

[@opencommentsbbcnewsnight1704]

It is simple, but traitors are in charge.

[@henrygreenwood3927]

You can't invite 10 people over for dinner when you only have enough food for 6. If you do. Everyone eats less. This is plain and simple. Debating this is moot.

[@Crazy_World_4_You]

Don’t forget to add international students which are coming from Punjab India , in the name of international students attending diploma mills for the sake of Pr . Consider them as a Permanent Resident as well . No hate just pure facts!!!

[@victorortiz1387]

NO more Indian students please we sick of them

[@aalampara7853]

As an Indian myself totally agree with that!

[@dava00007]

You should also metion health care as a stress point, here in Quebec it's already stretched to its limits.

[@jessefaw]

It's a crazy thing bringing in a million people a year. Young kids really deal with it more than anyone

[@irenapesula7772]

This should be put through referendum.clearly nobody voted for unsustainable mass immigration that is changing fabric of this country and its vested interest of business and corporations supported by the government.

[@Rob-vc6xw]

Housing in Canada has been neglected for well over 30 years by every political party and this has led to something much larger and much worse than a crisis. For way too long previous generations and the politicians they voted for lived by the short cited notion than limited housing simply will raise home prices and generate wealth for home owning Canadians. Now finally after decades of pursuing this policy and ignoring the issue of housing we have arrived at this situation which should have been obvious to anyone paying attention. Nothing short of declaring a national emergency and creating a department of housing with broad authorities to override local laws and step in and build housing all across the country will solve this issue. Simply put, we need to build more than is actually necessary to bring back the value of housing to a sensible place. Also people seem to forget the role corporations play in this issue. Companies used to have full time employees and they could get bank loans. Now companies have temp staff, contracted workers, fixed term, seasonal, casual workers, interns and whatever other word they invented as an excuse to pay fewer staff less money. So now if you go into a bank and try to explain them that casual employee is a word the company uses to avoid paying dental benefits to you, but you have a steady income and have saved for a down payment and regularly work 55 hours a week, the bank will ask you to come back when you are a "full time employee".

[@opencommentsbbcnewsnight1704]

This kind of top-down rush-rush housing project development has been tried in other countries, probably most recently in China, and it always produces areas that are horrible to live in (in the case of China, there are ghost cities with crumbling infrastructure just years after construction). The first and easiest step should be to end mass immigration.

[@Rob-vc6xw]

@opencommentsbbcnewsnight1704 I am in no way trying to associate any housing policy here with any policy in China. All things related to real estate construction done in China should be avoided. China did what it needed to do lift people out of mass poverty. But that is not what I am talking about here in Canada. What I am talking is having all political parties come up with a long term unified strategy to all agree to agree that housing is major national priority and that whoever is in charge needs to work with the opposition to have unity in solving this issue. There needs to be an unbroken commitment from whoever is in charge to make this is the single most important issue in this country and to actually show us, the people that vote for them and live here, that they are unified in there desire to solve this issue. As for immigration, I agree that the McKinsey plan to have Canada get a population of 100 million by 2100 is totally insane and something no one asked for and no one wants. That plan should be thrown in the garbage immediately. Essentially we need our politicians to go against their nature and actually work together to solve this issue, which will take decades to solve. Instead of the short sighted win now, kick the can, type politicians.

[@miniaturestuff4916]

This is not just a housing crisis. This a systemic issue that covers all cost of living, labour and skilled workers, resources provided for new immigrants and asylum seekers etc etc etc. There is definitly a degredation in our systems that need to be addressed. People are rapidly becoming more and more despondent and losing all hope of the myth of the Canadian dream. This is not the Canada that my parents moved to in the 60's. We are a nation of immigrants but this is far beyond an immigration concern.

[@Doug-zl8nb]

Immigration skilled workers they're sure bring in their scams and crime into the country

[@opencommentsbbcnewsnight1704]

The "nation of immigrants" term is propaganda from the US. It has nothing to do with Canada. It is also not a clever idea in the US.

[@mnaqvi]

I am an immigrant, so this comment is posted with both humility and an acknowledgement that there is a level of cognitive dissonance in my views. Immigration needs to be refocused back towards bringing experienced and skilled professionals to the country. The visa factories we have created in the form of “hole in the wall” colleges are doing a disservice to Canada, and to the young men and women who go to extreme lengths to move here (primarily from India). The last decade’s surge in international students (nearly a million young people are now here as students) has created significant socio economic issues.

[@irynaomel7920]

As an immigrant myself, I ask to stop immigration to Canada.

[@knzzzz318]

Also is accepting international students that are here to work 40 hours a week a good decision? These students will not add to the quality of our schools as they are not here for an education they are here for a PR. I have met students that will just enrol in any course in order to sustain themselves in Canada. Is this just an easy cash grab for colleges? Also have we just added more people to our system who may not actually have the skills that we need?

[@sharonwhyte5090]

Regarding the challenges around the housing crisis, whether we need to bring skilled immigrations into the country or train our unemployed with the skills to address this issue, I'm leaning toward training our unemployed with the skills to build houses. We can look at structuring a program in half into learning to build a house and half on a building site installing doors and windows until they have their apprenticeship, we can not bring immigrants into a country where we are facing a housing crisis. the words of a famous US President asked what you can do for your country.

[@miroenriquez5473]

I always enjoy watching Adrienne, she lets the guests speak more

[@faustairtomo5562]

Canada is no longer the country I fell in love with. Definitely thinking about my next chapter.

[@Doug-zl8nb]

Government has sold Canadians out. The name of Canada is going to be changed in the next 5 years. The government are criminals

[@Doge_Finance]

Bye Felicia 👋

[@leadinglady19]

You and me both. I agree.

[@Doug-zl8nb]

Government of Canada only wants immigrants, crime and corruption in Canada. They don't want good people

[@ericfraser432]

Most immigrants are securing housing due to their advantages over Canadian citizens, including generational wealth and higher education. This trend is pushing our citizens into poverty and onto the streets; the majority of shelters and tent encampments are occupied by our own citizens, not immigrants.

[@weeAmos]

Sad truth

[@itsjustramblings]

Simply put, the guy who already owns a home or money to buy one or owns construction companies needs new immigrants more than someone who doesn't own a home but want to buy one. The guys who suggested it takes 5-10 yrs to train someone must be planning to build a home in mars or building the next google 🤣. The biggest loss is for those working class immigrants who come to canada oblivious to all the issues and come with all their savings and realize they are being pushed to rent a high-priced barely decent place until their money runs dry.

[@mendoza4789]

the 'haves' have made thier own self serving laws for far far to long in canada. its at the point now they are literally going to destroy the country unless some balance is restored

[@ahhmm5381]

He was saying it would take a long time for his workers to be able to train others. This isn't relevant. Why does he only have 3 apprentices? Get 10, keep the best.

[@mendoza4789]

@@ahhmm5381 he doesn't even want any apprentices he wants fully trained foriegn workers who are so desperate they will work for minimum wage and take his non stop abuse doing it. These construction bosses need a long overdue reality check

[@ahhmm5381]

@@mendoza4789 Maybe, or they may simply be too complacent, expecting the government to take care of all the training.

[@stephanievillaltafernandes4336]

Canada has to work for people here already so that we will be able to afford a home, raise a family and live a decent life by working a 9-5 job like was possible before, that should be the governments priority above everything else. What good does it serve to keep immigration levels but have declining quality of life where these people won’t even have a chance to build a life because the homes that are being built are unaffordable anyway or are just being bought up by investors?

[@littlethings8331]

That's because Immigration doesn't benefit average people like us but it benefits those people who own multiple properties so that they can exploit people by raising rents or sell their properties for a great profit. That's why if you look at those politicians in Canada. A lot of them are real estate investors. The former federal minister of housing Ahmed Hussen was even hoarding single family houses. Ironic, isn't it?

[@aaz1992]

Global debt levels say no

[@lenadahling]

💯💯💯

[@sithdemon5965]

Immigration in Canada should also address the ability of the culture to be able to integrate them. And them to integrate to Canada. We are seeing tribalism and that is not healthy.

[@kylegallant3423]

Is it time to slow things down????? How will adding 2 million new people to this country help anything let alone housing and healthcare????

[@sl2462]

Make the universities build lots more student accomodation, especially if the sector is reaping big profits. International students should not reduce the limited amount of established homes on the market. Good thing is university students probably accept smaller living quarters so long as they have common areas to socialise in.

[@shahier81]

What about people using real estate as investment. This was never a problem before Covid hit. Since Covid all the people who paid thousands of dollar over asking prices have made life miserable for all the ordinary Canadians.

[@SARWSiddiqui]

This was a problem before Covid too

[@1986Unlimited]

This WAS a problem way before Covid and Justin Trudeau were in the picture. This stuff began in the late 90's and was already becoming a problem by 08-09. By the time Justin Trudeau came into power, the Housing Market was finished. The reason nobody talked about it was because everybody from the Government to those involved in the Real Estate Business and Housing Market were making so much money off of this. Justin Trudeau's Immigration Targets + Covid pushed it all over the edge and sent it crashing downhill. Canadians have short-term memory and just want to blame one person and one thing but the fact is, this was a 30 year issue gone unchecked and unacknowledged.

[@mathieug6136]

Canada has elite overproduction. We bring educated immigrants while also pushing most people into higher educations. Tech sector salaries are a joke compared to US, while cost of living is higher. There's just too many people who compete for a few promised spots. We compete with third world companies while keeping investment low and RE costs high. Canada productivity is stagnant. I have a PhD in an engineering field and I would probably earn more being a plumber. We are creating a counter elite that is frustrated not getting their due and will actively work against the system.

[@thekingspin9846]

Australia needs to learn from this, we're part way down the same trajectory

[@salmanalibhai9148]

What we need to do is to control the immigration in Canada, because if we continue to accept people and they have a very hard time enjoying a decent quality of life, then the underlying issue is not solved. We need to regulate it so that the current people in the country are stable and settled down.

[@falsettoandhighnotes6913]

I was living in halifax NS and rent ain't cheap man. It's like 3000 dollars for a 2 bed! Considering the size and population of a city like halifax there something much deeper going on in terms of housing issue...

[@marianacastro9016]

In the East Coast we also have a housing crisis. There is not enough accesible housing options. In Newfoundland, we currently have 2 tent cities, refugees have opted to go back to their countries, the labour market cannot support all the University graduates with Masters and PhDs.

[@Ynalaw]

There are countless videos of "certain types" of people engaging in a plethora of senseless violence. We need to stop bringing "these types" of people to Canada. Cultural violence is the worst.

[@prashanthsubburam1605]

I am afraid by not limiting or slowing immigration in relation to hosing shortage might simply create an anti or negative view on immigrants. It’s time to make immigration more targeted based on economic need and limit family based immigration to immediate family like spouse and children and not siblings at least temporarily

[@souravmukherjee4987]

You can’t sponsor adult siblings to Canada, I believe.

[@Svenskaraket]

The economist offered nothing by way of a solution, just the usual bromides re "immigration is what built this country." The number of new arrivals actually exceeds one million annually - close to half a million permanent residents and the remainder temporary workers and students. They all need housing and other services. Population is growing by 2.5% but GDP by only 1.4% meaning GDP per capita is shrinking. Housing starts are 250-300 thousand. Immigration has to be wound down significantly. It’s okay to say this. It doesnt mean you're a xenophobe. It means you're a realist, a pragmatist. Current government has to go. They're clueless.

[@chrishardy8616]

I am a contractor. I had several employees in the past that were poached by bigger companies because I could not afford to match or beat what a large company could pay them because they are receiving gov grants and subsidies. Interestingly, I have a larger skillset than the vast majority of Canadians but I have never been asked or approached, or incentivized to join the house building labour force. Or better yet, I could be training the next gen of builders. Only the big companies with lobbyists get the grants and subsidies, just the way the government likes it. Canada is full of monopolies and Oligarchies.

[@GabrielAlvarez-y5v]

I know of someone with some building experience, looking for a job with a mentor. Are you interested?

[@cadenmccann6741]

Lack of a genuine immigration-skeptic perspective here

[@alexsmith-ob3lu]

Canada used to take in 200k immigrants per year. Now we’re headed up to over a million per year, without any extra housing being built.

[@dankburgers]

How many hospitals have been built in all of Canada in the past 2 years? The number is less than 5.

[@alexsmith-ob3lu]

@@dankburgers Thanks of that info. Do you have any sources? Same thing can be said with everything else. Hardly any public transit is being built, so everyone is resorting to driving private cars which creates more traffic congestion on highways.

[@Isobel667-ht2es]

The two ladies on the panel are 100% correct. We need to place a moratorium on immigrants, refugees and foreign students until more houses are built. We have increased crime, increase in homelessness, health care system is on the brink of collapse and our teachers are so stressed out. The only immigrants that should be allowed into our country are qualified construction workers and health care workers.

[@brentandellesoutdooradventures]

Not everyone wants more housing. Some of us miss the Canadian landscape we grew up with. Now all you see is track housing on farmland, building lots for sale everywhere, malls and infrastructure to support all these homes turning rural landscapes into new cities.

[@thezu9250]

You sound like someone who has the luxury of living somewhere affordable. This is a very tone deaf comment when people are literally homeless due to a lack of affordable housing.

[@brentandellesoutdooradventures]

I don't think you understand my comment, and I certainly do not have the luxury of living affordably. I'm also not sure how building more homes, malls and infrastructure helps to make things more affordable. Although that does seem to be the rhetoric spewing from many these days. @@thezu9250

[@APICSKH]

Stop LMI scam, these businesses need to start paying for the skilled labour

[@3DVIDEOSMurray]

Too many immigrants, too many kids. Supply is low and demand is high. Cut the demand from growing and increase wages for the people who choose to build this country and i bet the issue will eventually sort itself out. The results the businessmen on the left are creating is a proportional growth in the demand for homes as they are made WITH the added condition of saturating the labour market with people who are willing to wear themselves out for minimum wage. Sooo many positions that SHOULD be paying $28/hr are only paying $20/hr simply because their banking on getting some desperate Mexican or Philippino to do it.

[@mendoza4789]

i work construction, exactly right.

[@elenar.7780]

The government these past 6 to 7 years has been crushing, stripping of rights , raising taxes, raising costs, mortgage interests, excessive penalties etc. to landlords that provide housing and in the other hand protects bad tenants to the extreme, they are not hold accountableand and can go from one place to the other scamming landlords and playing the system. Nobody wants to build, invest or be a landlord in this housing scenario, specially because the flawed rules of tenancy system. Government can't help tenants destroying landlords.

[@Yoopsen213]

Shaun was so great with bringing in the social safety net and inflation. It’s worth a mention bc this problem goes beyond just housing and immigration

[@Vertignasse82]

I was born and raised in Canada and I don't even have a family doctor. If immigration puts pressure on the housing market, at least I would appreciate if some of these immigrants were doctors, not low-skill workers.

[@myleghurts3546]

Our point system is hurting more than helping

[@Scaran1982]

Firstly, good and bad points. The construction guy only cares about his bottom line clearly. 80-90’s “the system” pushed for higher education not trades. Outside of big cities, smaller areas need to be able to attract talent. Regarding if immigrants leave, when I worked for the cra the numbers were clear. About 20-30% leave the country after 2 or 3 years. Also this economist, full of herself…

[@FionaBlacksecondhandonline]

My husband is a contractor and there are no jobs as people can’t afford to get any work done.

[@jandp2941]

But they want to bring immigrants into the country for jobs that don’t even exist for people who are already here 😓

[@walkinprogress88]

Stop the condos building and build affordable housing for everyone. Most people are exiting Canada now!

[@maddievictoria4947]

Should have been slowed down years ago! When we first started having a housing crisis.

[@TravisJohann115-]

Hello 👋🏻 how are you doing

[@Bigdoni91]

The woman in pink was the most rational one in the room.

[@hirsch4155]

Have to say Adrienne Arsenault is a pro even though I’m not always a fan of the CBC

[@MegaAvalonn]

And for those saying it's refreshing that CBC is finally having this conversation in an unbiased format. It was still a biased format. The panel was two ordinary women, one an immigrant, another a child of immigrants (no long term generational Canadian) vs an employer in the construction trades too lazy to train staff, a tech employer wanting a pool of cheap labour, and a baby boomer hippy "expert" ideologue comparing the immigration of the 1950s to today, when it's not even remotely comparable. In all fairness, I commend the two ordinary ladies because I believe they won the "debate" and had much better arguments, despite the panel being stacked. However, let's not kid ourselves, CBC is still being CBC, and they need to be defunded.

[@JulietMartin2022]

Armine Yalnizyan seems completely out of touch with the real life experience of real Canadians who are struggling to find affordable housing, struggling with overcrowding in schools, struggling with long waits for essential healthcare, struggling with skyrocketing prices on all essential needs, etc…all of which is linked to supply and demand . Trudeau welcomes half a million foreigners each year and expects us to take a number and wait at the back of the line. As an “economist?”, she’s supposed to be an expert analyst. That’s worrisome.

[@justintrudoo]

I mean all you have to do is read their name. She's not Canadian. She's Ontarian.

[@ImagineSomeCoolNameHere]

Not only do we need to build new homes, but new schools, we need more doctors, nurses, teachers, etc.

[@mugerwasolomonmuweke2448]

Yes doctors and nurses lol

[@junepatena5111]

When we come here in Canada in 2001 housing is the biggest problem we have encounter and government did not do much to address the problem. Good during that time u can rent 2 br apartment for 800 dollars a month now because of back log in housing and continuous influx of immigrants the situation becomes worst. A 1br apartment today in Vancouver cost 1500 to 1900 dollars for 3 occupants, is not affordable considering the high cost of living and the inflation that we are experiencing.

[@vitalii-dan]

Wouldn't a guest workers program be the solution? Just because we need builders doesn't mean they have to settle in Canada, they can return home with money and experience

[@classicdufferin8739]

True, just like arab countries.

[@max_x]

Saying they don't have workers is such a lie. Plenty of people would work for them if they paid their workers a living wage, high enough to live in the city (Vancouver) where the work needs to be done. But these guys won't take the hit to their profits to attract workers with higher pay, oh no. They want to import a poor indentured slave class pay them less than other Canadians in exchange for citizenship.

[@thekingspin9846]

This should be the top comment

[@rubysilver3299]

At this point, it’s not immigration, it’s human trafficking.

[@victorlionelnazaire685]

How about RESTRICTING foreign students and immigrants for the NEXT 5 YEARS until this housing crisis is resolved ? Otherwise, the social costs ( crime, street itinerants, violent crimes) will change the Canada that we 've known in the last 20th century.

[@lawrenceoftokyo]

Adrienne Arsenault sure was careful to stress, "We don't want to STOP immigration." Just let the conversation happen, don't be so rigid and cowardly with the moderation.

[@jacktoulouse5390]

Exactly, it’s a bit ridiculous. It’s not journalism when you come to the table with some answers that are off limits.

[@cleanlaundrys]

Lack of affordable housing? I wonder if the billions of dirty foreign money laundered within B.C alone every year has anything to do with it. The Vancouver model? What a joke.

[@ilikeshroomgals]

Chicken and the egg analogy is very accurate.

[@vacantstairs1]

In the 1990's "we thought the market could handle all of our housing needs and the market will never handle low cost housing needs" .. finally someone said it. It was not just in Canada. Same in the US, the Uk, Australia etc..

[@thekingspin9846]

In the 90's no-one was prepared for the exodus of half of the sub-continent