Originally Posted by Azure
It is rather simple at this point.
High immigration levels.
Low housing levels.
Regardless of anything else, those two things are going to be an issue.
I don't have an issue with high immigration levels because I do believe there is a labour shortage, and the immigrants I work with are hard working people who want to provide for their family and make Canada a better country, but at some point something is not lining up, and our governments are slow to realize this.
Also, housing is provincial or municipal. Immigration is federal. Should we expect the Feds to build houses in small town Manitoba? Winnipeg? Calgary? No, of course not. So why are our governments, whether provincial or local being given a pass?
In my area, the planning district is a nightmare to work with for housing. Despite many complaints, nothing has been done. Run stupidity like that up the line, and it does simply equal less housing starts each year, despite there being a constant backlog.
I'd imagine you can find similar circumstances everywhere.
So, as much as I love to rag on the Liberals all the time, given what I see in my local community or even in Winnipeg & beyond, not sure I can bag the Liberals fully on this one.
Also, in Winnipeg there is a high demand for trucking & logistics, and with Centerport happening, the simply fact is that immigration is filling those trucking spots. Can we attribute that to 'oh they will work for less money than 2nd or 3rd generation Canadians?" Well I'm not sure, because everyone in the trucking industry I talk to says you can make a VERY good living these days as a truck driver. With the industry set to explode the next 10 years, what do we really think the government should do here?
The problem that the Feds have is that they're forcing the BoC into a everything looks like a nail policy of driving up rates, when we all know there is much, much more going on that makes inflation go higher.
The Feds could do a lot.
Most importantly develop legislation that encourages competition within every market.
Telecom
Food
Being two big ones. More competition and open access for outside investment would drive down prices.
End of the day, this entire economic process is really just benefiting the rich. Bell, Telus, Rogers, Loblaws, etc. All getting rich while Canadians struggle.
One other question with the inflation issue. Costco is almost ALWAYS cheaper on everything. What is holding people back from shopping there?
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