
Surrey and Burnaby put on hold for $143M home building fund
The federal Housing Accelerator Fund program was set to provide $138 million to Burnaby and Surrey for housing permits and affordable housing projects, however Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser has put a stop to the funding for now, citing confusion over the Metro Vancouver regional government's proposed Development Cost Charge increases. Burnaby and Surrey mayors expressed their disappointment with the cancellation, with Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley calling it a "fiasco". The money could have been used to hire new staff to accelerate permitting and to support below-market rental housing projects.