Housing department admits photo-op used fake construction backdrop

Taxpayers footed a $32,000 bill for a fake construction site backdrop at Prime Minister Mark Carney’s September housing announcement, the Department of Housing has now admitted.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Taxpayers footed a $32,000 bill for a fake construction site backdrop at Prime Minister Mark Carney’s September housing announcement, the Department of Housing has now admitted.

Blacklock’s Reporter first reported the admission.

In a response to an Inquiry of the Ministry tabled in the House of Commons, the department confirmed the display — a stack of partially built townhome units — was erected solely for the announcement and later dismantled.

“The homes have since been disassembled,” the department wrote, adding they were trucked to an undisclosed location in Eastern Ontario.

The disclosure followed a request from Conservative MP Arnold Viersen, who asked who authorized the decision to “temporarily erect unfinished prop houses” for the prime minister’s announcement.

The department said only that decisions regarding the location “were made in accordance with all relevant rules,” and noted the units “were not completed to a level in which occupancy permit requirements apply.”

The framing was assembled by Ottawa-based builder Caivan Homes. “Caivan health and safety teams were involved in the Build Canada Homes rapid demo build at all stages to ensure complete compliance with all safety regulations and statutes,” the department wrote.

Carney used the site to unveil the government’s $13-billion Build Canada Homes program, calling it an effort to “build faster, smarter and more sustainably.”

Cabinet has committed to constructing at least 500,000 new homes annually, more than double current national housing-start levels.

Canada recorded 245,367 housing starts last year, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., and has never surpassed the 273,200 peak set in 1976.

In August, housing starts dropped 16 per cent compared to July.