MHABC Quarterly Newsletter Fall 2021

Contents

Highlights Meet Our Board Board Matters What's New? Statistics

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2022 Conference Program Development Well Along

In the Summer 2021 Newsletter, Members were reminded that the 2022 Conference will be held in Penticton on May 2nd through May 4th and notified that development of the Conference Program was well underway.

This work continued over the past quarter with the consultation of many potential presenters. While the final Program will not be solidified until later in the Spring, discussions have been held with Dr. Mohamed Al Hussein of the University of Alberta, Mayor Jan Polderman of the Village of Lytton as well as other key presenters. The 2022 Conference agenda will be an intended departure from our policy update driven Conference as in past events. To further align with our association’s strategic goals in supporting current government initiatives, this year’s event will showcase presentations addressing the manufactured housing industry’s role in addressing climate change, energy efficiency, carbon reduction and provincial supportive efforts after a year of fire, flood and pandemic.

In order to ensure that MHABC Members also have an opportunity to stay informed on the many policies associated with government relations, a fall Technical Day is being contemplated. The one-day session would focus on building standards, transportation, home registration via the Manufactured Home Registry and other critical topics such as placement of secondary homes and our relationships with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Fisheries as well as Agriculture Land Commission. More information will be provided through 2022 as the session becomes fully organized.

2022 looks to be another year of change and dealing with major issues. Members are urged to participate in the Conference and planned Technical Day session as well as providing on-going input to the Board of Directors on their priorities.

Finally, Members are urged to book the dates and plan on making hotel reservations. See you in Penticton this coming Spring (fingers crossed!).

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BC Flooding Continuing to Provide Challenges for Factory-Built Housing Transport

The flooding that occurred in late November has caused major damage to many communities in southern BC as well as transportation corridors. During the majority of December, a single highway (Hwy # 3 – Hope Princeton) was the only option for travel between BC’s coast and interior. The outcome resulted in major challenge for the factory-built housing industry in moving homes from interior manufacturing plants to lower mainland and Vancouver Island locations. More information on this topic is covered in the Board Matters section. The MHABC has taken a very proactive approach in providing information and recommendations to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and Commercial Vehicle and Safety Standards Branch. These activities have been conducted in cooperation with the BC Trucking Association in which the MHABC is a member. These activities have allowed permits to be approved for some levels of wide-loads to be moved in this corridor.

At the time of writing, the provincial government has announced the opening of Hwy #5 Coquihalla to commercial transport on December 20th. This was very good news for our industry and the MHABC expressed sincere thanks to MTI, CVSE and road construction contractors which have taken the actions to approve permits and expedite the repairs to the impacted transportation routes. On December 23rd, the government also expanded the permissible over width to 5 meters and it is anticipated that as more experience is gained on travel over Hwy #5, that additional width allowances will be granted.

Manufactured Home Park Owners Alliance of BC 2022 Conference

The MHOPABC is scheduled to hold an in-person Conference at the Marriott Inner Harbour Inn in Victoria on May 13th and 14th. As the MHABC is an associate member of the MHPOABC, it is anticipated MHABC Members would be welcomed at the event to network with the manufactured home park owners however with COVID-19 restrictions and possible limitation on event size, please contact Executive Director Al Kemp at al.kemp.ai@shaw.ca for more information.

Canadian Home Builders Association Federal Government Advocacy

CHBA CEO Kevin Lee has been in discussion with Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing, on implementing housing affordability commitments from the election platform.

One of biggest items for the Minister will be the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF), a $4 billion fund aimed at growing the housing supply of middle-class homes by 100,000 additional units over and above normal activity by 2025. This fund was a cornerstone of the Liberal platform and responded well to CHBA recommendations. Minister Hussen will also be supported by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance on expanding Canada’s housing supply. CHBA has already met with Minister Hussen, and with officials from the Department of Finance and CMHC to input into the design and implementation of the HAF.

Other key items the CHBA has been advocating for with government officials have included:

• Increasing the housing supply in Canada’s largest cities through measures such as increased densification, reductions in construction approval timelines, and the rapid development of vacant or underused lands. 
• Support first-time home buyers by introducing legislation to double the First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit;
• Working with financial institutions to create a tax-free First Home Savings Account;
• A much needed new option in First-Time Homebuyer Incentive Program, in line with CHBA recommendations to replace the shared-equity mortgage portion with a repayable loan, repayable only at the time of sale.
• Supporting the conversion of empty office and retail space in the federal portfolio and in commercial buildings into market-based housing; work with municipalities to support a fast-track permitting system for conversions.
• Expand the eligibility requirements of the deep home retrofit loan program to include more climate resilience measures, while also ensuring the program remains accessible to both individual homeowners and multi-unit residential buildings.

Additional information from CHBA BC

The eligibility for Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) has been expanded for people affected by flooding and landslides between November 14 and December 2, 2021. It now includes British Columbians in the northwest, southwest, central, and southeast areas of the province and on Vancouver Island.

The assistance is available to homeowners, residential tenants, business owners, farm owners, and charitable organizations that were unable to obtain insurance to cover disaster-related losses. Financial assistance is provided for each accepted claim at 80% of the amount of total eligible damage that exceeds $1,000, to a maximum claim of $300,000. Claims may be made in more than one category, for example, a homeowner and a farm owner can apply, and a homeowner or residential tenant must show that the home is their principal residence.

Individuals, small businesses, farms and charitable organizations can access the DFA application online and applications will be accepted until March 3, 2022.

Learn more about the application process here.

BC Trucking Association Continues To Be A Major Resource For The MHABC

Throughout 2021, the BC Trucking Association has been a major asset for the MHABC whether dealing with COVID-19 policies or working to allow transportation companies to move loads across the province. More recently, the BCTA has been instrumental in working with the provincial government in providing guidance on major transportation matters. The BCTA has also worked closely with the MHABC as our association promoted ideas to continue to allow transport of some types of wide loads over Hwy #3 and more recently providing guidance to the Ministry of Transportation of Infrastructure on the use of Hwy#5 for commercial vehicles. The MHABC provides our thanks to BCTA Dave Earle and Vice-President Cory Paterson for their diligent efforts throughout the year.

Members are also reminded the BCTA’s newsletters are posted in the MHABC’s Members Only Section and they should utilize this major resource to stay abreast of provincial and national transportation issues.