NODE GROUP-上世纪90年代加拿大的住房政策

上世纪90年代加拿大的住房政策

Canadian Housing Policy in the Nineties

Canadian housing policy, in common with that of most western states in recent years，has shifted away from the provision of social housing, and has moved strongly towards market approaches to housing problems. In fact, some observers would even go so far as to say that today there is no national housing policy. While this is undoubtedly an exaggeration, the retreat of the benevolent state, and the devaluation of responsibilities to provincial, and in turn to local levels of government has completely reshaped the form of housing debate in this country.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the changes over the last decade, to offer some interpretations, and to speculate on the future. It is divided into four sections. The first provides a thumbnail sketch of Canada, and surveys the major agencies involved in housing, in order to provide context. The second examines social housing’s past, present and future . The third looks at market housing and the ways in which initiatives are dirdcted at reducing costs by speeding up the approval process, legalizing secondary apartments, narrowing building plots, reducing home sizes, giving incentives to first time home buyers, insuring mortgage and the like. The final section then endeavours to interpret the changes, and their implications for the future.

Context

Canada is, of course, a federal state, made up of ten provinces and two territories, with a population which has just passed thirty million (1996). About 83% of Canadians live in urban areas, and almost one third (31%) live in the three largest metropolitan areas, Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. The housing stock consists of over 10 million units, almost 7% of which is social housing-a proportion comparable to that of the U.S. and Australia, rather than to that of Western European cities. About 62% of housing is owner-occupied, (single family houses, condominiums, and flats), and the rest, about 30%, is private market rental.

On an international comparative basis, Canadians are well housed. In fact, over 80% of the current stock has been built since 1945. Nationwide, 57% consists of single-family detached houses, and 9% is large apartments (5+ storeys). The rest is made up of duplexes, triplexes, row houses and the like. The national housing agency, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), created first in 1945, is a Crown Corporation. Under the terms of the National Housing Act (NHA), it has wide powers in the areas of housing finance, social housing, housing research and development and is a prime advisor to the government on housing policy. CMHC is one of Canada’s 15 largest financial institutions, managing close to $13.9 billion worth of assets, mostly in loans and investments in land and housing projects. (Girard, 1996)