Huge disparities in housing approvals and development fees found across Canadian cities by Senate report

A Senate report highlighting large discrepancies in building timelines and development charges among Canadian municipalities is calling for federal funding to be contingent on cities proving that they can fast track housing projects and lower builder fees.

The report studying housing affordability, by the standing Senate committee on banking, commerce and the economy, found major differences between the approval timelines for homebuilders in different cities. It said that a housing project can take more than two years to be approved in Toronto, because of a bloated regulatory process. Meanwhile, Calgary took only 10 months for the same approvals.