Canadian Federal Politics Thread v5

[Azure]

Isn't she the free drugs for everyone moron? Good riddance.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

I don't care what anybody says about the effectiveness of Botox to smooth wrinkles and fine lines; I assure you it will not work on your scrotum.

why would you want a smooth ballsack anyway? The wrinkles give you more opportunity to lock in flavor.

[blender]

I'm a home builder, and my comment would be that it isn't one single issue that is making it difficult to get homes built; it is all of the issues that have been mentioned here and more.

A couple things to consider:
Costs to build residential have never been higher. It costs 15-25% more to build a house today than during the pandemic in 2020. Labour costs (direct and indirect) are probably the biggest cause, while materials also have a large impact.

Approvals and permit lead times can be a problem, and the way the local jurisdictions handle their business can be a pain, but I'm not sure it's that big of a deal. Different jurisdictions may have different outcomes, though. I can't speak to what's happening in bigger cities.

I think there is a major disconnect between "affordable housing" and what the market wants. Nobody is starting any spec builds right now; move-in ready ones are sitting empty for sale. I think there is a presumption that if there was enough stock to buy, this housing problem would be solved, hence this "plan" to streamline the planning process. In reality the issue is lack of affordability. Cheap mortgages made $800,000 homes accessible, and the market hasn't corrected yet. I'm not sure it will, or if it will be enough to make a difference. There are a lot of forces fighting a correction.

Bottom line is there needs to be a proper, long-term plan if we want to see actual change. Currently it is pure free market capitalism, which means if you can afford it, you can build it or buy it and if you can't, you can't.

[belsarius]

Originally Posted by blender

I'm a home builder, and my comment would be that it isn't one single issue that is making it difficult to get homes built; it is all of the issues that have been mentioned here and more.

A couple things to consider:
Costs to build residential have never been higher. It costs 15-25% more to build a house today than during the pandemic in 2020. Labour costs (direct and indirect) are probably the biggest cause, while materials also have a large impact.

Approvals and permit lead times can be a problem, and the way the local jurisdictions handle their business can be a pain, but I'm not sure it's that big of a deal. Different jurisdictions may have different outcomes, though. I can't speak to what's happening in bigger cities.

I think there is a major disconnect between "affordable housing" and what the market wants. Nobody is starting any spec builds right now; move-in ready ones are sitting empty for sale. I think there is a presumption that if there was enough stock to buy, this housing problem would be solved, hence this "plan" to streamline the planning process. In reality the issue is lack of affordability. Cheap mortgages made $800,000 homes accessible, and the market hasn't corrected yet. I'm not sure it will, or if it will be enough to make a difference. There are a lot of forces fighting a correction.

Bottom line is there needs to be a proper, long-term plan if we want to see actual change. Currently it is pure free market capitalism, which means if you can afford it, you can build it or buy it and if you can't, you can't.

And that last line is 100% the reason I think the CPC will not do a damn thing to make things more affordable for the average Canadian.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by Azure

Isn't she the free drugs for everyone moron? Good riddance.

[Firebot]

Originally Posted by Azure

Isn't she the free drugs for everyone moron? Good riddance.

She's also the "Pension?" MP

https://twitter.com/user/status/1408057316344176650

[Duruss]

https://archive.is/2023.12.13-114944...adership-race/

Looks like PP has had some outside help, which was always expected. Anyone that thought China or India only tampered with the Liberals was never a serious person.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Azure

Isn't she the free drugs for everyone moron? Good riddance.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by Duruss

https://archive.is/2023.12.13-114944...adership-race/

Looks like PP has had some outside help, which was always expected. Anyone that thought China or India only tampered with the Liberals was never a serious person.

No one should be surprised. India, China and Russia have been meddling in North American elections for years.

I hate that membership drives are allowed before/during party elections. It completely warps an election, especially if such membership purchases are obfuscated through candidate proxies.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

why would you want a smooth ballsack anyway? The wrinkles give you more opportunity to lock in flavor.

Thanked for making me dry heave.

[Firebot]

Originally Posted by Duruss

https://archive.is/2023.12.13-114944...adership-race/

Looks like PP has had some outside help, which was always expected. Anyone that thought China or India only tampered with the Liberals was never a serious person.

What the heck does the bolded mean? Are you insinuating something here?

No one ever stated that China / Indian only tampered with the Liberals, especially considering both O'Toole and Peter Chang were targeted by China and both are in the CPC. It was also reported recently that the CPC leadership was infiltrated, which I posted on but it got ignored or missed.

Originally Posted by Firebot

This is coming from Sam Cooper who was canned by Global after his foreign interference story earlier in the year implication Han Dong, take it with a grain of salt as a result, but it's making the rounds. It talks of Chinese infiltration in election and leadership races including the CPC's leadership contest.

https://www.thebureau.news/p/exclusi...ort-says-china

The contentious foreign interference issue has been Han Dong being investigated by CSIS and alleged statements and events while under investigation, Liberals doing nothing about CSIS reports, which included reports that showed Chang's family was being targeted, the Trudeau Foundation being used as a tool to get discourse with Trudeau which when the details got clearer caused the whole current board minus one member to quit, naming David Johnston as a rapporteur that had a huge conflict of interest or appearance of conflict.

Foreign interference is a serious issue where Liberals chose to deliberately stall. If anything new revelations of infiltration of the CPC leadership race as well as the Indian government commuting an assassination on Canadian soil shows how important our sovereignty and election process is.

It's interesting to note that Sam Cooper is apparently back in some select posters good books now that Poilievre was mentioned?

Foreign interference needs an inquiry and full investigation, period.

[Duruss]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

No one should be surprised. India, China and Russia have been meddling in North American elections for years.

I hate that membership drives are allowed before/during party elections. It completely warps an election, especially if such membership purchases are obfuscated through candidate proxies.

Damning for PP as current allegations would have him benefiting from this kind interface the most. His refusal to get a security clearance looks even more suspicious now.

There's also this version of the story, but need it from a better source.
https://www.baaznews.org/p/cpc-leade...n-interference

[gasman]

Originally Posted by blender

I'm a home builder, and my comment would be that it isn't one single issue that is making it difficult to get homes built; it is all of the issues that have been mentioned here and more.

A couple things to consider:
Costs to build residential have never been higher. It costs 15-25% more to build a house today than during the pandemic in 2020. Labour costs (direct and indirect) are probably the biggest cause, while materials also have a large impact.

Approvals and permit lead times can be a problem, and the way the local jurisdictions handle their business can be a pain, but I'm not sure it's that big of a deal. Different jurisdictions may have different outcomes, though. I can't speak to what's happening in bigger cities.

I think there is a major disconnect between "affordable housing" and what the market wants. Nobody is starting any spec builds right now; move-in ready ones are sitting empty for sale. I think there is a presumption that if there was enough stock to buy, this housing problem would be solved, hence this "plan" to streamline the planning process. In reality the issue is lack of affordability. Cheap mortgages made $800,000 homes accessible, and the market hasn't corrected yet. I'm not sure it will, or if it will be enough to make a difference. There are a lot of forces fighting a correction.

Bottom line is there needs to be a proper, long-term plan if we want to see actual change. Currently it is pure free market capitalism, which means if you can afford it, you can build it or buy it and if you can't, you can't.

The average selling price for a home in Calgary increased 40% from 2020... Homebuilders are raking it in hand over fist

I have a really hard time thinking the biggest increase to a home builder cost isn't labour and materials it's profit.

Lumber is 40% the cost it was in 2020, and I would wager that labour costs haven't really gone up my more than a couple percent per year.

Homebuilders have plenty of money to put in the pockets of council, and lobby I don't think for a second they aren't gouging for extra profits.

[blender]

Originally Posted by gasman

The average selling price for a home in Calgary increased 40% from 2020... Homebuilders are raking it in hand over fist

I have a really hard time thinking the biggest increase to a home builder cost isn't labour and materials it's profit.

Lumber is 40% the cost it was in 2020, and I would wager that labour costs haven't really gone up my more than a couple percent per year.

Homebuilders have plenty of money to put in the pockets of council, and lobby I don't think for a second they aren't gouging for extra profits.

A lot of selling price data can be inflated by re-sales; new builds are a different thing.

There may be homebuilders who gouge, and I'm not in Calgary, so I can't comment on that market, but I don't gouge, and we have very narrow margins. The bulk of our clients are selective custom home buyers and work with us on cost-plus contracts where everything is disclosed.

[you&me]

Originally Posted by blender

A lot of selling price data can be inflated by re-sales; new builds are a different thing.

There may be homebuilders who gouge, and I'm not in Calgary, so I can't comment on that market, but I don't gouge, and we have very narrow margins. The bulk of our clients are selective custom home buyers and work with us on cost-plus contracts where everything is disclosed.

+1

We've been exploring a custom build in Calgary and prices are down significantly since 2021 and the dirt we're looking at is flat...

[Azure]

Originally Posted by gasman

The average selling price for a home in Calgary increased 40% from 2020... Homebuilders are raking it in hand over fist

I have a really hard time thinking the biggest increase to a home builder cost isn't labour and materials it's profit.

Lumber is 40% the cost it was in 2020, and I would wager that labour costs haven't really gone up my more than a couple percent per year.

Homebuilders have plenty of money to put in the pockets of council, and lobby I don't think for a second they aren't gouging for extra profits.

Is there some kind of new housing construction method where the entire build is done with this supposed lumber that has come down in price so much?

Trusses
Floor Joists
OSB
Sub Floor
Framing Material

Has come down in price.

Foundation Work
Cement
Windows
Doors
Electrical
HVAC
Cabinets
Roofing Material
Appliances
Flooring
Countertops
Insulation
Drywall
Paint
AND Labor

Has not come down the same way. Some has continued to get more expensive.

But definitely more interested to learn about your housing construction method where you can build an entire house with just lumber.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Azure

But definitely more interested to learn about your housing construction method where you can build an entire house with just lumber.

The new developments of cities will transform into looking like we live in the middle of a forest, but eh.

[Fuzz]

That door is an excellent example of the saying "dead as a door nail".

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

That door is an excellent example of the saying "dead as a door nail".

If I lived there I'd be dead from the door nails.

[Regorium]

Originally Posted by blender

I'm a home builder, and my comment would be that it isn't one single issue that is making it difficult to get homes built; it is all of the issues that have been mentioned here and more.

A couple things to consider:
Costs to build residential have never been higher. It costs 15-25% more to build a house today than during the pandemic in 2020. Labour costs (direct and indirect) are probably the biggest cause, while materials also have a large impact.

Approvals and permit lead times can be a problem, and the way the local jurisdictions handle their business can be a pain, but I'm not sure it's that big of a deal. Different jurisdictions may have different outcomes, though. I can't speak to what's happening in bigger cities.

I think there is a major disconnect between "affordable housing" and what the market wants. Nobody is starting any spec builds right now; move-in ready ones are sitting empty for sale. I think there is a presumption that if there was enough stock to buy, this housing problem would be solved, hence this "plan" to streamline the planning process. In reality the issue is lack of affordability. Cheap mortgages made $800,000 homes accessible, and the market hasn't corrected yet. I'm not sure it will, or if it will be enough to make a difference. There are a lot of forces fighting a correction.

Bottom line is there needs to be a proper, long-term plan if we want to see actual change. Currently it is pure free market capitalism, which means if you can afford it, you can build it or buy it and if you can't, you can't.

At what point does the forces fighting a correction actually capitulate?

I just can't imagine builders sitting on empty plots because noone is willing to pay 1.5M to put a spec estate home (but maybe 1.2M is the right price). What would have to happen in your opinion to see builders start moving on their pricing? You mentioned that move-in ready homes are starting to show a bit of the strain in the buying markets, so there's gotta be some pressure and a future breaking point right?