The Honourable Sean Fraser and the Honorable Klara Geywitz met in Ottawa to discuss mutual priorities and opportunities for collaboration between Canada and Germany on the topics of housing and infrastructure. As members of the Group of Seven (G7), they also discussed the ongoing work around sustainable urban policies that help promote the growth of livable cities.
Minister Fraser discussed the federal Government's ambitious housing agenda, Solving the Housing Crisis: Canada's Housing Plan, supported by new investments in Budget 2024 that are focused on building more homes, making it easier to own or rent a home and helping Canadians who can't afford a home. Among the initiatives highlighted were the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) that is incenting municipalities to make transformative changes by removing zoning barriers and ramping up housing construction, and Reaching Home - Canada's Homelessness Strategy that is providing long-term support to communities to address their local homelessness challenges.
The two Ministers also shared best practices and insights on innovation in urban development and the housing sector, by investing in technologies like prefabricated housing factories, sustainable building materials such as mass timber production, panelization, 3D printing, and pre-approved home design catalogues. Lastly, a key emphasis was placed on the importance of tying investments in areas such as water, wastewater and waste, to housing and urban development initiatives, thereby building connected and affordable communities.
The meeting also facilitated discussions on sustainable growth and enhancing resilience to reduce the impacts of climate change in cities. Minister Fraser highlighted Canada's efforts to protect communities against the impacts of climate change through initiatives such as the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, which invests in projects that help protect homes and critical services against climate-related risks.
The Honorable Klara Geywitz reiterated shared challenges and priorities from a German perspective and highlighted the German government's efforts to address housing and climate concerns through alliances of state and non-state actors jointly developing a comprehensive package of measures aiming to give a major boost to housing construction. Minister Geywitz stressed that the objective of new funding programmes was to reach the needs of urban and rural populations even more precisely than before. She emphasized the similarities of Canada and Germany in using federal governance to fully unleash the transformative power of cities for sustainable urban development. Those similarities and both governments' commitment to strengthen urban resilience were also an excellent basis for cooperation amongst all G7 countries, Geywitz said.
The meeting resulted in productive discussions that reinforced Canada and Germany's commitment to a strong collaboration on issues related to housing, infrastructure, and resiliency in cities and communities. They agreed that a joint proactive approach will better protect the environment and strengthen their communities, making them safer and healthier places to live, work, and raise a family. Both ministers look forward to continuing this collaboration during the G7 Urban Development meeting in Fall 2024 and beyond.
