$15-billion in federal loans for apartments not enough to address housing crisis, says developer

The federal government needs to remove obstacles for developers to build more housing in northern Ontario, and across Canada, according to a developer based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

Sam Biasucci, the owner of the SalDan Construction Group, said lower interest rates would go a long way to attracting more investors to build homes.

"There's only so much we can expect from the government," Biasucci said.

"At the end of the day, the government is not in the business of building houses. Developers and builders like us have to figure out a way, and keep figuring out the different ways to build the houses."

The Trudeau government's fall economic statement on Tuesday promised $15-billion in new loans under the Apartment Construction Loan Program. The initiative is meant to stimulate the construction of affordable homes, and is expected to cost the federal government $342 million.

But Biasucci said even $15 billion in loans doesn't amount to much when spread out across Canada.

All levels of government needed

Adrian Dingle, the director of development with Raising the Roof, a non-profit organization that builds affordable housing, said any money from the federal government is always welcome if it can help build affordable housing.

Dingle said all levels of government need to work together, along with industry and organizations like Raising the Roof, to address the housing crisis.

"Our project in Sudbury that completed recently is a great example of strong municipal participation," he said.

Through that project they built 10 rental units for people who were previously experiencing homelessness.

"At our next opportunity to develop in the north, we're looking to involve municipal, provincial and federal funding in order to make sure that we can have the greatest impact," Dingle added.

He said one of the biggest obstacles to building more homes in northern Ontario is a shortage of skilled trades workers.

"Our program aims to address that by providing trades training as a part of our construction programming," Dingle said.

Morning North10:45How to build more housing in northern Ontario

Housing was the main focus of the federal fall economic statement. It included billions of dollars in loans to build more rental housing. Does that mean more homes will be built in northern Ontario? We asked two developers for their opinion.