Kamloops Chamber of Commerce petition looks to bolster affordable housing

The Kamloops and District Chamber of Commerce is pushing for the federal government to consider a policy that it says presents an innovative way to grow the stock of affordable housing nationwide.

Colin O’Leary, who sits on the chamber's board of directors, said the policy pushes for changes to federal tax law that will incentivize donations of land to community land trusts.

A community land trust is a non-profit organization governed by a board of directors, created to hold land in perpetuity for the benefit of the community.

“It's a policy that looks at tackling affordable housing but in an innovative way, in a way that no other thing that we've done to date accomplishes,” O’Leary said.

He said the cost of land makes up a large component of the overall price of housing, and a community land trust “just takes land out of the equation.”

When someone purchases or builds a home on property owned by a land trust, they aren’t paying for the land and they don’t own the land — although homeowners can still build equity through the house itself.

“If you take the cost of the land out of there, that $600,000 house is actually now only costing $300,000. So it's instantaneously affordable and makes a really big difference,” O’Leary said.

O’Leary said community land trusts have been around since the 1960s and there are successful examples worldwide, including hundreds in the United States and some in Canada.

However, O’Leary said Canada doesn’t have many land trusts due to its tax laws — which is what the chamber is attempting to change.

O’Leary said those in Canada wishing to donate land to a community land trust for affordable housing are deterred from doing so because they must give up the land and then pay tax on it.

The chamber’s policy said donations of land to a land trust should be exempt from capital gains and eligible for a tax credit or offset. O’Leary said this mirrors an existing program which gives tax credits to those who donate land for ecological preservation.

“Between 2006 and 2015, over a billion dollars worth of land was donated [for ecological preservation] using that mechanism," he said.

"Can you imagine a billion dollars worth of land being donated for affordable housing right now? And it’s not taxpayer dollars — this is private wealth getting mobilized for the public good."

The policy is laid out in an official Parliament of Canada petition which has been endorsed by Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Frank Caputo. The chamber is currently collecting signatures on the petition to help push the policy forward.

In a social media post, Caputo referred to the proposed policy as a "game changer."

O’Leary said the policy has been set in front of several federal ministers and has gained some traction.

"Everybody loves it, but we need to get it in front of the current federal finance minister, or the ministry or the Finance Committee. And we're working towards doing that right now,” O’Leary said.

On Tuesday, Kamloops Coun. Katie Neustaeter put forward a notice of motion suggesting city council collectively endorse the policy by signing the petition.

"Affordable housing is at the very top of our priority list right now, as we look at so many of the social challenges that we're experiencing and how people continue to become vulnerable. The answer to that, in many ways, is housing and affordable housing,” Neustaeter said.

“This is a really important move that's worked throughout the world, and community land trusts already exist in Canada, and we need them here in Kamloops, too. But we need to remove barriers that exist for people or any deterrence for people who might want to donate land for that purpose.”

Anyone interested in learning more about community land trusts and the chamber’s policy is encouraged to visit the Kamloops and District Chamber of Commerce website.

O’Leary said residents can help by signing the petition and spreading the word.

“Not a lot of people who are members of the chamber — or have heard of the Chamber of Commerce — know that there is this advocacy and policy work that we do, where we can actually access different levels of government, whether it's municipal, provincial, or even federal, and we can actually affect change,” O’Leary said.

“We can actually change the laws in the whole country to help correct problems and basically make Canada a better place. That is the foundation of all this.”

Kamloops council will discuss and vote on Neustaeter’s motion during their next meeting, scheduled for Nov. 29.

The Kamloops Chambre of Commerce is pushing for new solutions to affordable housing. This change could be a game-changer in #Kamloops #Thompson #Cariboo. Thanks to our local chamber for this exciting initiative. Check out the e-petition & sign if you agreehttps://t.co/2hFIPVqCxu

— Frank Caputo MP (@FrankCaputoKTC) November 3, 2022