Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/10/2014 (2175 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mayoral Candidate Robert-Falcon Ouellette pledged to build 800 affordable housing units a year using land donations, tax-increment financing and by mandating a number of affordable units be built as part of every housing project.

Those 800 new homes would include social housing spread throughout the city, co-ops and homes for purchase.

He said he would donate city-owned land for affordable projects, waive permit fees and expand tax increment financing where the city grants back to builders the property taxes it would have made from a new project. Ouellette would also mandate that developers build a certain percentage of affordable units as part of any residential project.

Ouellette also said he would place a moratorium on condo conversions, though it’s not clear the city has the power to do that.

Ouellette’s plan is similar to one proposed last week by front-runner Judy Wasylycia-Leis, who also called for more use of tax increment financing, land donations and inclusionary zoning. Like Ouellette, she also decried the city’s modest commitment to affordable units, noting cities such as Saskatoon and Calgary have much more aggressive targets.