pandemic. Canada was already suffering from a shortage of housing supply – which was part of the reason prices were as high as they were before, and part of the reason they are even higher now – and a stoppage would have only exacerbated that issue. Alsofortunately,thegovernment was able to quickly put in place supportive programs to help businesses weather the storm. CHBA was engaged with those programs very early on, and they remained engaged as the programs were modified and amended after rollout. “I have to give kudos to the government for rolling programs out very fast, and also for recognizing that they needed to make adjustments to those programs afterwards to make sure they were as effective as possible,” Kevin says. “We were consulting and providing information to the government all the way through that process.” As an example, he cites the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), a taxable benefit available to employers who experienced a drop in revenue due to COVID-19. When thatbenefitwasfirst introduced, the declining revenues were being calculated in a way that didn’t work for residential construction because of the industry’s long timelines. CHBA was able to influence changes to the subsidy so that it would better align with the realities of the homebuilding sector. The association was able to similarly influence other benefit programs, which led to a lot of relief for their membership. Again, Kevin credits the government for their adaptability and their responsiveness to the industry’s APRIL 2022
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