Mike Moffatt is the Senior Director of policy and innovation at the Smart Prosperity Institute and an Assistant Professor in the Business, Economics and Public Policy group at Ivey Business School, Western University. In 2017, Mike was the Chief Innovation Fellow for the Government of Canada, advising Deputy Ministers on innovation policy and emerging trends. His has also previously held the titles of Director (Interim) of the Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management and Chief Economist for the Mowat Centre at the University of Toronto. 

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Since the last time you were on the podcast you have kept digging into the housing crisis.
Forecast for Failure: How a Broken Forecasting System is at the Root of the GTAH’s Housing Shortage and How it Can be Fixed
Is the GTA the root cause of the crisis – what should the new mayor of Toronto focus on first?
Provincial Housing Targets vs Your estimate

You just released a report called Who will Swing the Hammer which looks at Hamilton. Although Hamilton is in the deeper sphere of the GTHA, what should SWO Ontario take away from that report’s findings?

Immigration to fix labour shortages vs housing
– Damned if we do, damned if we don’t situation – accept a housing crisis or accept a demographic/labour crisis?
– Should we be looking at adjusting the “points system” to encourage “blue collar” immigration? Let people come here who can build housing – or does that just create similar challenges as now because they won’t have the right “trade certification”?
– Growth in the post-secondary sector enrolment

There is a perception that only certain types of housing can be build – suburban McMansions, 1 bedroom condos, high end condos etc. What market/regulatory forces are suppressing new but modest/diverse builds?
Is there a disconnect between expectation and reality somewhere? Young people and the Canadian Dream, Builders, elected officials?

Taxing home construction Do development charges pay for growth or are they just an added cost creating a barrier for people to enter the housing market?
What is a more appropriate revenue tool for municipalities?

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You can listen to the Dr. Mike Moffatt’s first appearance on Council Conversation here