Reading Time: 3 minutes Reforming the minutiae of the building permit process might not be fashionable, but it can encourage homebuilding and affect prices
Author: Josef Filipowicz
Josef Filipowicz is a local government and housing policy specialist with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. He holds an M.A. in Political Science from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning from Ryerson University. From September 2014 to April 2020, Josef was a policy analyst at the Fraser Institute’s Centre for Municipal Studies, where he was the author of more than 15 studies on land-use regulations, housing affordability, property taxation, and municipal finance. He also commented frequently on policy issues in these fields, notably through radio and television interviews, panel discussions, public presentations, and more than 140 blogs and op-eds.
Removing barriers to housing construction crucial to affordability in Calgary
Reading Time: 3 minutes Calgary homes are more expensive now than when oil prices peaked before the 2008 recession
Houston provides affordable housing example for Vancouver
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reducing red tape allows for innovative solutions to housing for growing populations, ultimately lowering housing costs
Home building hampered by regulatory hurdles
Reading Time: 3 minutes Smoothing out kinks in the home-building process can pay dividends to anyone looking for a new home
The glaring imbalance in Metro Vancouver’s transit plebiscite
Reading Time: 3 minutes Vast majority do not use public transit but are expected to pay for it with higher taxes on many of their day-to-day expenses