b'PRESIDENTS MESSAGETHE PERFECT STORMT he Perfect Storm is an Americandevelopment and potentially strengthen disaster film from 2000 aboutthe Canadian dollar. But that is a story for three weather systems collidinganother day.off the coast of Nova Scotia in October 1991 that combined to create aNext on our list of colliding weather catastrophic event. And while the moviesystems is infrastructure. Our good friends script may have been fictional, the stormat the Canadian Construction Association was certainly real. recently hosted a Hill Day that sent nearly 100 of us to parliamentary meetings In the construction industry, the housingwith one message. We acknowledge crisis, our massive infrastructure deficitthat governments amassed debt during and the current labour crisis cannot co- the pandemic and that reducing deficit exist in my view without colliding to createspending is vitally important, but a catastrophic event. Simply put, Canada isshrinking infrastructure budgets will have on the cusp of another perfect storm.catastrophic consequences. Let us begin with housing, which is alreadyFor a time, governments appeared to set scarce and expensive. Canada Mortgageaside partisan politics in favour of long-Housing Corporation (CMHC) contendsterm strategic infrastructure plans for the that affordability will not be restored ingreater good of the country. Our federal Canada unless we build at least 3.5 milliongovernment, it appears, has bought new housing units in addition to the 18.6themselves some time in respect to an million that they forecast will be availableelection by negotiating yet again with the by 2030. Ontario and British ColumbiaNDP party, but their memories are short have the least affordable housing andand priorities change. God help us if predictably account for 60 per cent of theinfrastructure spending is slashed.housing supply gap. What keeps me upAnd finally, the labour crisis. Make no at night is that the gap between supplymistakedespite what you may be told by and demand is growing exponentially, anda select but vocal few, we are in a labour projected lower interest rates will not solvecrisis, and the order of magnitude of the a problem this big.gap is already 85,000 skilled workers in Interest rates are a whole other problem,a labour force of 1.56 million. BuildForce since the Bank of Canada seemsCanada is forecasting that the gap will determined to wait for inflation to droppotentially grow to 350,000 before the end below two per cent before they beginof the decade, and I for one believe them. How is that not a crisis?the process of lowering rates, even though lowering rates sooner than laterTheoretically, things could change, but will stimulate much-needed housingthat seems unlikely. Take immigration, for 8Quarter 12024 BUILDERSDIGEST'