[Speaker: Mark Stewart  – Specialist, CMHC]

[Visual: PowerPoint slide titled "Today's Presenter — Elizabeth Tang." Photograph of Elizabeth Tang. The National Housing Strategy word stamp appears in the top right corner.]

Mark Stewart

I would like to introduce today's presenter, Elizabeth Tang. Elizabeth is focused on engaging with professionals in the housing industry with academics, provincial municipal governments to ensure access to the latest and most relevant housing information from CMHC. She has been with CMHC since 2006.

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Mark Stewart
Elizabeth,

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Mark Stewart
the virtual floor is yours. Thank you for presenting today.

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[Visual: The screen switches briefly to a live image of Mark Stewart as Elizabeth Tang begins her presentation]

[Speaker: Elizabeth Tang  – Specialist, CMHC]

Elizabeth Tang
Thank you very much Mark and good morning or good afternoon.

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Elizabeth Tang
Let me put that into the presentation mode.

[Audio silence – The screen switches from PowerPoint mode with notes and tile view to presentation mode.]

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Elizabeth Tang
OK.

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[Audio silence as the screen switches from PowerPoint mode with notes and tile view to presentation mode.]

Elizabeth Tang
Just to bear with me a little bit.

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[Visual: PowerPoint slide titled "Here we gather." Title is set against a topography-themed graphic background.]

Elizabeth Tang

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Elizabeth Tang
Good morning or good afternoon depending on where you are.  I'm speaking from Burnaby, BC and wanted to acknowledge that I live, work, learn and play on the traditional territory of the ___ nations of Musqueam ___, and Squamish. I'm thankful for this land and appreciate its many generations of caretakers.

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Elizabeth Tang
In our virtual environment, it is important to recognize that even though we may come from different communities and backgrounds, we are connected through the traditions, values, and history of our ancestors. So please take a moment to reflect on the good things the landing which you are joining has brought you.

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Elizabeth Tang
In today's session, I will provide you with an overview of the new Housing Accelerator Fund, abbreviated as HAF, H-A-F. We will go over some key elements of the program with highlights on the eligibility and the program requirements, application intake and the prioritization, the funding framework and permitted uses and also the key dates

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the session agenda on a plain background. A decorative image on the right shows a woman making a presentation to two individuals.]

Elizabeth Tang
and the resources that will be important for your applications.  This presentation will take about 40 minutes. If there is time remaining after this presentation, we will move into an open question and answer period. In the meantime as Mark has introduced, please feel free to ask your questions using the Q&A function. Our experts will do their best to answer your questions.

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Elizabeth Tang
We hope that at the end of this session you will come away with the information, the knowledge you will need to submit your application for the HAF program.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide titled "The Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF)" that provides an overview of the program and its purpose. White and yellow text is set against a dark background. A decorative icon of a hand pointing upwards to a set of three stars displays in the bottom right of the screen.]

Elizabeth Tang
So what is the Housing Accelerator Fund or HAF?  It is a new investment by the Government of Canada through CMHC to encourage local governments to implement initiatives that will speed up housing development and increase supply within their sphere of control.

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Elizabeth Tang
The funding will incentivize lasting systemic changes that will reduce barriers to housing supply so that more homes can be built faster and over the long run, make housing more affordable to everyone living in Canada.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide titled "Objectives and supported priorities" on a dark background. A linear graphic depicts two objectives and three supported priorities in boxes with light backgrounds, each containing a decorative icon.]

Elizabeth Tang
The primary objectives of the program are to create more supply of housing at an accelerated pace and enhance certainty in the approvals and the building processes.

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Elizabeth Tang
The program also supports housing supply that aligns with federal government’s priority areas including the development of complete communities that are walkable consisting of appropriate residential density and a diverse mix of land uses providing access to a wide variety of amenities and services through public and active transportation.

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Elizabeth Tang
It supports the development of affordable, inclusive, equitable and diverse communities that encourage clear pathways to achieving greater socioeconomic inclusion.

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Elizabeth Tang
The program also supports the development of low carbon and climate resilient communities.

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Elizabeth Tang
With these objectives in mind, the HAF program will provide $4 billion in the form of contribution funding. The program will run until 2026-2027.

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Elizabeth Tang
This new fund is intended to increase the supply of housing across Canada by at least 100,000 net new permitted housing units over the course of the program.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide that depicts the program investment of $4 billion until 2026–2027 and that the program will increase housing across Canada by at least 100,000 net new permitted housing units.]

Elizabeth Tang
It will also support lasting changes that will improve the housing supply for the years to come.

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Elizabeth Tang
Because local governments play an important role in creating the conditions to increase housing supply and then driving system reforms, the HAF program invites applications from any local government within Canada including First Nations, Metis and Inuit governments who have delegated authority over land use planning and development approvals.

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Elizabeth Tang
If there isn't a municipal level authority then a regional district or province or territory that has authority for land use planning and the development approvals may also apply to the HAF program directly.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide that describes who can apply to the HAF. A decorative image on the right shows a Canadian urban seascape.]

Elizabeth Tang
There are two streams within the program, your location and the population determine the stream you apply to.

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Elizabeth Tang
The large urban stream is for Canadian jurisdictions with a population equal to or greater than 10,000 excluding those within a territory or an indigenous community.

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Elizabeth Tang
If a Canadian jurisdiction has a population less than 10,000 or is within one of the territories or an indigenous community, it can apply to the small rural north indigenous stream.

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Elizabeth Tang
The population is based on the 2021 census data from Statistics Canada.

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Elizabeth Tang
Application requirements.

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Elizabeth Tang
To be eligible for

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Elizabeth Tang
the funding, the applicant will be required to

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide titled "Application Streams." Two tiles with a white background define the streams: Large/Urban and Small/Rural/North/Indigenous. 2021 census data from Statistics Canada is listed as the source for population data.]

Elizabeth Tang
meet these minimum requirements. They must develop an action plan that outlines the specific initiatives that the applicants will undertake to grow the housing supply and to speed up development approvals.

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Elizabeth Tang
All action plans must be approved by an elected council or equivalent including delegated authority and include an attestation of the applicants, Chief Financial Officer or equivalent on the viability of the plan using a prescribed form.

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Elizabeth Tang
The applicants must commit to a housing growth target. They must complete or update the housing needs assessment report and include reoccurring scheduled review date to keep the needs assessment current.

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Elizabeth Tang
This requirement may be waived if the applicants have recently completed or updated their needs assessment.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide titled "Application Requirements." A decorative image on the left depicts an urban street with residential buildings.]

Elizabeth Tang
The Housing Accelerator Fund Awards announced last year on April the 7^th during the 2022 federal budget.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide outlining minimum program requirements, including an action plan, a housing growth target, a new or updated needs assessment and reporting requirements. Decorative clip art of a city scape fills the bottom of the screen.]

Elizabeth Tang
If you have completed or updated your needs assessment reports within two years of that date which is to say that you completed or updated your needs assessment reports after April the 7^th, 2020, you can request that this requirement be waived.

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Elizabeth Tang
The needs assessment report is not required to be completed at the time of application submission however, it must be completed by the prescribed timeframe which will be the third reporting period in the summer or fall 2025.

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Elizabeth Tang
And these periodic reports will be mandatory. We ask the successful applicants to report on their progress related housing data and fund use.

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Elizabeth Tang
And I'll talk more about the reporting requirements later in this presentation when we move into the monitoring and the reporting section.

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Elizabeth Tang
Now let's take a closer look at each of the requirements.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide outlining the key elements of the action plan: Housing supply growth targets, additional targets and action plan initiatives. A descriptive icon accompanies each element.]

Elizabeth Tang
In the action plan, there are 3 key elements we will be looking into: the housing supply growth targets, additional targets and action plan initiatives.

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Elizabeth Tang
Let's begin with the housing plan growth target.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide that defines the housing supply growth target and the permitted unit projections required. A decorative image on the left shows an urban street lined with residential buildings.]

Elizabeth Tang
In the application, the applicant will be required to provide 2 projections. The first projection is the total number of permitted housing units without HAF. The second projection is the total number of permitted units with HAF and the projection with HAF is what we call the housing supply growth target. The projection should be based on a 3-year period ending.

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Elizabeth Tang
September the 1^st 2026.

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Elizabeth Tang
If the applicant’s proposal has been selected to participate in HAF, the applicant will enter into a contribution agreement with CMHC and the housing supply growth target will be reflected in the contribution agreement as this is the number that the successful applicant will commit to and achieve by the third year of the contribution agreement.

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Elizabeth Tang
There is no prescribed formula when calculating the growth target.  The applicant must calculate their own projections based on reasonable assumptions and the data sources such as Statistics Canada and their own administrative data.

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Elizabeth Tang
Here is in illustrative example. You can see that there are 5 values in this table and let's begin by focusing on the first 3.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide illustrating an example of a growth rate projection. Five values are listed along with their projected numbers in a table: current housing stock/number of dwellings; total number of housing units projected without HAF; housing supply growth target; annual housing supply growth target; and housing supply growth target increase. A decorative image of a city scape appears in the upper right corner of the screen]

Elizabeth Tang
Within the application, an applicant must provide their current housing stock. In this example, the city has a current housing stock of 100,000 units.

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Elizabeth Tang
The second line is the city’s projection of the total number of housing units they expect to permit without HAF over the next 3 years until September 2026. In this example, there will be 7,000 units permitted without HAV.

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Elizabeth Tang
Then with the support of the HAF program, they will be able to permit an additional 1 000 units over the same 3-year timeframe bringing their total to 8,000 units. These 8,000 units will be their housing supply growth target.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide illustrating how the annual housing supply growth rate is determined using elements from the table in the previous slide. The table from the last slide appears below bulleted text outlining minimum growth rate requirements.]

Elizabeth Tang
Using the housing supply growth target and the city’s current housing stock, we can calculate the housing supply growth rate.

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[Visual: Animated red outlines pop up to illustrate the table numbers used for the calculation: 100,000 and 8,000. A formula appears at the bottom of the slide: 8,000 ÷100,000 = 8.00%. A second formula appears below the first: 8.00% ÷ 3 = 2.67%/year. A red outline pops up around 2.67% in the table, which corresponds to the annual housing supply growth rate.]

Elizabeth Tang
In this example it would be 8,000/100,000 units which gives us a growth rate of 8%/3 years or 2.67% annually and this is their annual housing supply growth rate.  As a minimum requirement, the applicant must commit to an annual housing supply growth rate that is greater than 1.1%.

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Elizabeth Tang
In this example, the city will exceed this minimum requirement.

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Elizabeth Tang
The housing supply growth rate increase is based on the housing supply growth target and the total number of permitted units projected without HAF,  The minimum requirement is a 10% increase over a 3-year period. In this example, the housing supply growth rate percentage change is projected to be above 14% which is greater than the minimum requirement

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Elizabeth Tang
of 10% increase.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide introducing the next key element: Additional Targets, accompanied by a checkmark icon. A decorative image of an urban street lined with residential buildings appears to the left.]

Elizabeth Tang
Up next, we have additional targets. This is where the applicants are asked to set targets based on the type of housing supply that is projected to be permitted with the support of the HAF program.

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Elizabeth Tang
These additional targets will increase the amount of funding available to the applicants if they are selected to participate in the program.

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Elizabeth Tang
The target can be set for housing types that align with the priorities of the HAF program which include multi unit housing that is in close proximity to rapid transit, multi unit housing that is characterized as missing middle or other types of multi unit housing.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide titled "Additional Targets." Two tiles outline the characteristics of multi-unit housing and affordable housing. Building and house icons appear above the categories.]

Elizabeth Tang
Affordable housing units. When we say affordable housing, we mean housing units that are intended for households whose housing needs are not met by the marketplace. The local definition of affordable housing will be used for the purposes of HAF. If the local definition doesn't exist, then the provincial or territorial definition will be applicable.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide that defines the "missing middle." A bulleted list of ground-oriented housing types appears to the right. A decorative image of an urban street lined with residential buildings appears to the left.]

Elizabeth Tang
For those of you who may wonder what is the missing middle, it refers to ground oriented housing types that exist between single detached and the midrise apartments. Missing middle housing can contribute to gentle density increases within single family neighborhoods. They are typically in the forms of low rise buildings less than 4 stories in height and they can provide diverse

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Elizabeth Tang
housing options such as garden suites, secondary suites, duplexes, multiplexes, core charter apartments and row houses.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to an application example slide. An image of a fictional application appears in the background. A call-out box with a megaphone icon reminds participants that they must provide a breakdown of their projected permitted housing units with and without HAF with the application. A decorative image of a city scape within a small circle appears in the upper right corner.]

Elizabeth Tang
As mentioned earlier in the application, we asked the applicants to provide a breakdown of their projected permitted housing units by type of housing with and without HAF.

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Elizabeth Tang
And this breakdown will determine the amount of funding the successful applicant will get.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide introducing and outlining the third key element: action plan initiatives. Building and siren icons accompany the text. A decorative image of an urban street lined with residential buildings appears on the left.]

Elizabeth Tang
The third key element of an action plan is the initiatives.

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Elizabeth Tang
If your community fits in the small rural ___ indigenous stream, you will develop a minimum of five initiatives

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Elizabeth Tang
and a minimum of seven for those in the large urban stream.

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Elizabeth Tang
We asked applicants to indicate to us how each initiative will increase the supply of housing and speed up approvals through the course of the HAF program as well as any other expected outcomes that will drive long lasting systemic changes after the HAF program wraps up.

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Elizabeth Tang
All initiatives included within the action plan should be new initiatives that have not yet started.

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Elizabeth Tang
If some applicants have challenges to meet the required minimum number of initiatives, depending on the circumstances, CMHC may offer exception to consider initiatives that are already underway but started after April the 7^th 2022. That was the date of the federal budget that announced the Housing Accelerator Fund.

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Elizabeth Tang
We encourage applicants to assess their own housing needs, challenges and opportunities and regional matters when developing their action plan.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide titled "Examples of initiatives." A decorative image of balconies on residential buildings appears on the right.]

Elizabeth Tang
To spark ideas, there is a list of permissible initiatives in the pre-application reference material that you can download from the CMHC website.  Just to quote a few examples, the initiatives can be pertaining to promoting high density development without the need for rezoning, encouraging, accessory dwelling units, incorporating a climate

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Elizabeth Tang
adaptability plan into your official community plan. There is flexibility for CMHC to consider alternative initiatives proposed by applicants if they are aligned with the HAF program objectives.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide titled "Permitted Uses of HAF Incentive Funding." A decorative image of an urban street lined with residential buildings appears to the left.]

Elizabeth Tang
Next, we will review the permitted uses of the HAF funding. If you remember that at the beginning of this presentation, I introduced that the HAF program is about driving transformational change and creating the conditions for more housing supply over the short and the longer term. It is intended to incent applicants to commit to change show progress

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Elizabeth Tang
and to be provided with funding in return.

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Elizabeth Tang
Some of you may be familiar with other funding programs CMHC offers and for applications to those programs, we will typically look into the loan to cost ratio loan to value to determine the financing amount.

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Elizabeth Tang
But HAF is different from those programs in that it is not directly underwriting specific housing projects or reimbursing applicants for specific costs incurred. Rather, HAF funding can be used in support of activities under any of the following 4 housing related categories. The funding can be used for the development of HAF action plans,

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide outlining the four housing related funding categories: HAF action plans; affordable housing; housing-related infrastructure; and community-related infrastructure. A decorative image of a panoramic city scape with mountains in the background appears to the right.]

Elizabeth Tang
investment in affordable housing, development or upgrade of housing related infrastructure and investment in community related infrastructure.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide defining the HAF action plans category, including the example of implementing a new e-permitting system. A decorative icon of three people talking around a table appears below the text. The list of four categories appears on the left of the screen with the current category text in bright yellow font.]

Elizabeth Tang
In the action plan category, a wide range of activities and their costs can be eligible for HAF and use.  They can be related to resource development capacity, building IT systems, public consultations and engagement and so much more.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide outlining examples for the affordable housing category: building, repairing or modernizing affordable housing, or purchasing land or buildings for affordable housing purposes. A decorative icon showing a set of buildings, a construction vehicle and a crane appears below the examples. The list of four categories appears on the left of the screen with the current category text in bright yellow font.]

Elizabeth Tang
The funds can also be used for investments in affordable housing including new construction or revitalization construction and land, or building acquisition for affordable housing use.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide outlining examples for the housing-related infrastructure category, such as drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, solid waste management, public transit broadband and connectivity, and capacity building. A bulleted list of examples is set over a plain background. The list of four categories appears on the left of the screen with the current category text in bright yellow font.]

Elizabeth Tang
For housing related infrastructure, I won’t be going through this long list on the slide. The HAF fund can cover a wide range of investments for the development or upgrade of infrastructure to support housing in the community.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide containing examples of eligible community-related infrastructure initiatives: local roads and bridges, sidewalks, lighting, bike lanes, firehalls, and landscaping and green space. A decorative icon showing a park with trees and a bench appears below the examples. The list of four categories appears on the left of the screen with the current category text in bright yellow font.]
Elizabeth Tang
Finally, community related infrastructure, anything that promotes health and safety, walkability, inclusiveness and sustainability can be funded by HAF.

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Elizabeth Tang
And let's take a look at a couple of examples.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide titled "Example of uses." A list of action plan initiatives and their permitted uses are shown in a table. A decorative icon of a city scape lines the bottom of the slide. A decorative image of a city scape within a small circle appears in the upper right corner.]

Elizabeth Tang
This example shows a simplified view of one of the action plan initiatives this city will complete. The city is interested in implementing high density as a right to zoning.  As a result of implementing this initiative, the applicant estimates that additional permitted units will be incented contributing to the overall housing supply growth

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Elizabeth Tang
target.

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Elizabeth Tang
They can also use the funds towards land acquisition and the construction of affordable housing. In addition to wastewater infrastructure and the local roads, sidewalks and the bicycle lanes that support housing, each of which falls under the 4 categories of permitted use of funds.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a second slide titled "Example of uses." A list of action plan initiatives and their permitted uses are shown in a table. A decorative icon of a city scape lines the bottom of the slide. A decorative image of a city scape within a small circle appears in the upper right corner.]

Elizabeth Tang
Another example where an applicant chooses to use their incentive funding on implementing a new E permitting system, and they can also use the funding tools, repairing affordable housing units and upgrading drinking water infrastructure and the firehouse that will support housing in their communities.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide introducing the prioritization section of the presentation. The text is set over a plain, dark background. A decorative image of an urban street lined with residential buildings appears on the left.]

Elizabeth Tang
In this next section, we will review how an application is prioritized.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide introducing the application intake portal. A decorative image shows a young Canadian working on a computer and wearing headphones.]

Elizabeth Tang
The application intake portal will open in the summer this year and stay open for 45 days. This is a short application window and there should now be subsequent application intake after this window closes. That's why we strongly encourage you if you want to apply to the program, you may want to start your action plan now and seek the appropriate approvals

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide outlining the application intake documentation checklist. Decorative work-themed icons appear next to each item.]

Elizabeth Tang
before the portal opens.

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Elizabeth Tang
This is a high level view of required documentation checklist. We ask the applicants to submit a completed application form including their action plan, assign the integrity declaration, their most recent audited financial statements if not available publicly.

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Elizabeth Tang
A current housing needs assessment report if it's available at time of application submission and also an attestation letter signed by the applicant’s Chief Financial Officer or equivalent using the prescribed form on the viability of the action plan.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide that explains how applications are prioritized according to the four criteria: commitment to increase housing supply; relevance of the initiative outcomes; effectiveness of the initiative; and need for an increased housing supply. Decorative icons show work-related themes.]

Elizabeth Tang
CMHC will review all applications to determine if they meet the program requirements.  The evaluation of the application will be based on these criteria. The commitment to increase their housing supply, the relevance of the initiative outcomes to one or more of the objectives of the HAF program, the effectiveness of the initiative in increasing the supply of housing

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Elizabeth Tang
and the need for an increase the housing supply.

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Elizabeth Tang
All initiatives outlined in the action plan will be individually assessed and the scored. I mentioned earlier that we require a minimum of 5 initiatives for the small rural ___ indigenous stream and 7 for the large urban stream and if applicants want to propose more initiatives, they are very welcome to do so especially if the additional initiatives will support their housing

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Elizabeth Tang
supply growth targets.  However, for prioritization purposes only, the top 5 initiatives under the small rural ___ indigenous stream or top 7 initiatives under the large urban stream will be considered.

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Elizabeth Tang
The evaluation criteria will allow us to determine which applicants are selected to participate in the HAF program. We will then use a separate funding framework to determine the amount of funding these selected participants will get.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide outlining the three funding framework components. The Base Funding component and its characteristics appears along with a decorative money-themed icon.]

Elizabeth Tang
In this funding framework, there are 3 components. The base funding which is designed to incent all types of supply across the housing continuum.

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Elizabeth Tang
A base funding is estimated to be $20,000 per incentive unit and we recognize that the remoteness will significantly increase costs so the per unit amount for those applications pertaining to housing in the territories or in their

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Elizabeth Tang
indigenous communities will be higher up to $40,000.

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[Visual: The second component, Top-up Funding, appears on the slide along with its characteristics and a money-themed icon.]

Elizabeth Tang
Second, the top up funding.  Top-up funding is designed to incent certain types of housing supply. The funding will depend on the type of housing and the associated projected increase in the number of permitted units.

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Elizabeth Tang

There is no top up funding for single detached homes.

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Elizabeth Tang
The estimated amount is to be between 7 and $15,000 for each incented unit.

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[Visual: The third component, Affordable Housing Bonus, displays on the slide along with its characteristics and a money-themed icon.]

Elizabeth Tang
Third, the affordable housing bonus.

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Elizabeth Tang
This bonus is designed to reward an applicant that can increase its share of affordable housing units relative to the total projected permitted units with the support of HAF.

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Elizabeth Tang
The affordable housing bonus is estimated to be a $19,000 per incentive unit.

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Elizabeth Tang
I will show you an example of how these 3 fundings work but before that, please keep in mind that the per unit amounts you see here in this presentation and in our published material on HAF are for illustrative purposes only.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide providing a base funding example for illustrative purposes. The example is animated, with each funding component and its corresponding amount appearing successively. A decorative image in the middle of the slide shows a city scape.]

Elizabeth Tang
In this example, a city has projected to increase their housing stock over the next three years to create 5,500 units.

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Elizabeth Tang
If they can secure HAF funding, they can then deliver an additional 500 units bringing them to 6,000.

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Elizabeth Tang
At the base unit amount is estimated at $20,000 which would mean that they could secure $10 million for the 500 HAF incented units.

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[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide providing a top-up funding example for illustrative purposes. A table is shown listing four types of housing, their corresponding units with and without HAF, the increase in housing type, the per unit amount and the top-up funding amount. A decorative image of a city scape appears within a small circle in the upper right corner of the slide.]

Elizabeth Tang
On top of that, the city may be eligible for some top up funding.  In this table, the city provides the number of increased units with the breakdown by type of housing.

0:31:22.471 --> 0:31:52.61
Elizabeth Tang
The top up funding does not apply to single detached homes before the rest. The city could receive $750,000 for the 50 multi unit housing units in close proximity to rapid transit, 3 million for the 250 missing middle units and 700,000 for the 100 multi unit housing units referred to

0:31:52.381 --> 0:31:53.251
Elizabeth Tang
as other.

0:31:54.221 --> 0:32:0.991
Elizabeth Tang
These bring their total top up funding to $4,450,000.

0:32:2.841 --> 0:32:17.451

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide providing a bonus funding example for illustrative purposes. The animated table displays elements successively, showing how  plans to increase affordable housing units can result in bonus funding. A decorative image of a city scape appears in a small circle in the upper right corner of the slide.]

Elizabeth Tang
Finally, they could also be eligible for the bonus. We already know that before HAF kicks in, the city projected to permit 5,500 units in the next 3 years

0:32:18.131 --> 0:32:27.491
Elizabeth Tang
of which 2% will be affordable housing.  With HAF, they are able to increase permitted units to 6,000.

0:32:28.991 --> 0:32:39.891
Elizabeth Tang
If they keep the share of affordable housing units unchanged at 2%, there will be 120 affordable housing units

0:32:41.91 --> 0:32:53.981
Elizabeth Tang
but the city is aspired to increase the share of affordable housing to 3 1/2% and this incremental 1 1/2% will increase affordable housing

0:32:55.61 --> 0:32:58.231
Elizabeth Tang
by 90 units to 210 units.

0:32:59.421 --> 0:33:14.981
Elizabeth Tang
And these 90 units will be eligible to receive the affordable housing bonus at a per unit amount of $19,000. The city can receive another $1,710,000.

0:33:16.641 --> 0:33:41.331

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide illustrating the estimated funding totals for the example in the previous slides. The fictional example could receive a total of $16,160,000 in funding. A decorative image in the middle of the slide shows a city scape.]

Elizabeth Tang
Now let's look at all the funding the city can receive. The city's housing supply growth target is 6,000 units and the projection without HAF is 5,500 so the number of HAF incented units is 500. It is the 500 HAF incented units that determines the funding amount.

0:33:42.391 --> 0:34:9.621
Elizabeth Tang
To summarize, for those 500 HAF incented units, the city can receive $10 million in base funding, $4,450,000 in top up funding and finally $1,710,000 for the affordable housing bonus bringing a total of $16,160,000.

0:34:12.381 --> 0:34:18.301

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide introducing the section on monitoring and reporting. The title appears over a plain, dark background. A decorative image of an urban street lined with residential buildings appears on the left.]
Elizabeth Tang
Moving into monitoring and reporting the requirements for successful applicants.

0:34:19.261 --> 0:34:48.731

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide outlining program reporting requirements. Three decorative report-themed icons appear next to each of the requirements.]

Elizabeth Tang
Successful applicants will enter into a contribution agreement with CMHC and from that point on, there will be referred to as proponents and the contribution agreement will outline the 3 main reporting obligations of the proponents under the HAF program. First, the progress on the initiatives and the commitments outlined in their action plan.

0:34:49.191 --> 0:35:19.511
Elizabeth Tang
For example, the proponents will indicate to us the overall status for each approved initiative whether completed, on track, delayed or not started.  Describe the rationale for the status especially if there are delays or milestones have not been met, we expect them to provide us with a detailed rationale including a proposed

0:35:19.601 --> 0:35:22.881
Elizabeth Tang
plan to get the initiative back on track.

0:35:24.451 --> 0:35:42.291
Elizabeth Tang
Second, permit data for all housing units permitted during the reporting period. Proponents will need to report on their building permit for new construction conversion and the demolition of residential dwellings.

0:35:43.11 --> 0:36:6.661
Elizabeth Tang
CMHC will leverage the data points that are collected through Statistics Canada building permits survey. Third, details on the HAF fund they use during the reporting period. There will be prescribed forms in the timelines for proponents to fulfill the reporting.

0:36:8.811 --> 0:36:31.981

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide outlining HAF key dates. Four tiles show elements to remember for each season, along with decorative, excellence-themed icons: Spring 2023; Summer 2023; Fall 2023; and Winter 2023.]

Elizabeth Tang
Some key dates to keep in mind. We are in the spring. CMHC is offering a series of info sessions, client meetings and presentations to communicate on this program. We encourage you to consider HAF.  If you are interested in applying, you may want to start your action plan now.

0:36:32.971 --> 0:36:41.941
Elizabeth Tang
The HAF application portal will be launched in the summer and the intake window will be open for 45 days.

0:36:42.631 --> 0:36:59.941
Elizabeth Tang
Again, it's a short window. This is why we strongly recommend that you start working on your action plan now because developing ideas, mapping out the initiatives and getting the appropriate approvals will take some time.

0:37:1.61 --> 0:37:13.421
Elizabeth Tang
Into the fall, evaluation and prioritization will complete. Successful applicants will be selected and then notified to participate in the program.

0:37:14.271 --> 0:37:23.861
Elizabeth Tang
By the winter 2023, all contribution agreement will be signed. The upfront advances will be processed.

0:37:26.141 --> 0:37:47.841

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide that shows an HAF Summary. Four points to remember are shown along with themed icons. The address to the program webpage is on the bottom of the screen: cmhc.ca\HAF.]

Elizabeth Tang
To summarize what we have covered today, the HAF program is $4 billion in contribution funding for local governments. With that, we are tasked to have at least 100,000 net new units permitted over the life of the program.

0:37:48.851 --> 0:38:9.351
Elizabeth Tang
This program supports the development of communities across Canada which aligns with the federal priority areas including the development of complete low carbon and climate resilient communities that are affordable, inclusive, equitable and diverse.

0:38:10.441 --> 0:38:20.861
Elizabeth Tang
The program intent is to create lasting systemic changes that will reduce barriers to the housing supply and the development approvals.

0:38:21.711 --> 0:38:28.101
Elizabeth Tang
We want to encourage local governments to speed up housing development and increase supply.

0:38:29.401 --> 0:38:36.621
Elizabeth Tang
Finally, you can find the most up-to-date information about the program on our website.

0:38:37.841 --> 0:39:7.131

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide titled "Resources." The address to the program webpage appears along with images of CMHC's website displayed on a mobile phone, tablet and laptop computer.]

Elizabeth Tang
If you want to learn more about the program, several resources are available on the CMHC HAF web page. If you haven't already done so, we recommend registering for more information on the website. This way, you will stay in the know when resources are released and become available. In the meantime, we again encourage you to explore

0:39:7.271 --> 0:39:11.871
Elizabeth Tang
some of the resources under the pre-application resources section.

0:39:12.801 --> 0:39:28.841

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide that shows three webpages containing HAF resources.]

Elizabeth Tang
You can find items like the HAF program highlight sheet, housing needs assessment to resource sheet and the pre-application reference material which is a comprehensive guide for the program.

0:39:29.581 --> 0:39:57.391
Elizabeth Tang
The information you have seen in this presentation is explained with more details in this pre-application guide in which you can find helpful resources and the tools including the list of permissible fund uses. I have mentioned the action plan template evaluation criteria and scoring matrix example application form and so much more.

0:39:58.971 --> 0:40:21.351
Elizabeth Tang
In closing, the HAF program is complex in scope. The amount of information I just covered can be overwhelming. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us. You are not in this alone. Multiple CMHC teams and the subject matter experts are ready to assist you.

0:40:22.481 --> 0:40:29.811
Elizabeth Tang
So thank you for spending time learning with us and I now give the virtual flow back to you, Mark.

0:40:34.791 --> 0:40:38.461

[Speaker: Mark Stewart  – Specialist, CMHC]

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide titled "Questions." A decorative image shows a group of colleagues brainstorming a project.]

Mark Stewart
Thank you so much, Elizabeth, and thank you again everyone

0:40:40.671 --> 0:40:51.841
Mark Stewart
for being here today and in submitting so many great questions.  I've been just seeing a ton of them come through the chat here and the HAF subject matter experts have been very busy

0:40:51.941 --> 0:41:4.111
Mark Stewart
doing their best to reply to them and get them posted for you today and they're going to continue until we close this session.

0:41:5.141 --> 0:41:11.891
Mark Stewart
So it's at this point that I'd like to call on our subject matter experts from the Housing Accelerator Fund.

0:41:13.211 --> 0:41:24.311
Mark Stewart
If they'd like to open their microphones and discuss any questions and maybe some common themes, anything they've been noticing

0:41:24.701 --> 0:41:29.51
Mark Stewart
with you all today during our question and answer period.

[Speaker: Frank Berube  – HAF Subject Matter Expert]

0:41:32.461 --> 0:42:1.731
Frank Berube
Thanks Mark, I'll jump in and just say a few words about just a few recap reminders about the program. So as we're seeing a few questions, we're getting a lot of specific questions about individual projects and costs associated to individual projects. I just wanted to remind everyone that this program is quite unique. It's truly an incentive funding initiative which means that you're funding will be associated to those permitted units that you'll be achieving at the end of the program by the end of the program.

0:42:2.411 --> 0:42:32.501
Frank Berube
And the expectation is that your cost associated to the initiatives that you'll be implementing to achieve those units will be much less than the actual costs, the funding that you receive. So keeping in mind once you've implemented your action plan items, the municipality is free at the discretion within the eligible cost categories to use that incentive funding towards any existing, current or planned housing projects that they had planned to do.

0:42:32.601 --> 0:42:48.131
Frank Berube
So once again, it's really incentive funding so it's the action plan items will be one portion of your funding and then the remaining funds can be used at the discretion for the municipality as they see fit to the best ways to support housing.

0:43:1.551 --> 0:43:3.771

[Audio silence as speaker switches back to Mark Stewart]

[Speaker: Mark Stewart  – Specialist, CMHC]

Mark Stewart
Thank you so much, Frank. That’s great.

0:43:5.381 --> 0:43:6.801
Mark Stewart
Are there any other

0:43:6.881 --> 0:43:7.131
Mark Stewart
HAF

0:43:8.491 --> 0:43:12.741
Mark Stewart
subject matter experts here on the call that would like to discuss anything?

0:43:18.491 --> 0:43:21.181
Mark Stewart
No pressure, no one is putting you on the spot.

0:43:35.831 --> 0:43:36.271

[Audio silence as the speaker waits for comments from subject matter experts.]

Hi Roger, I see you’re joining us. Thank you very much.

0:43:38.11 --> 0:44:9.221

[Speaker: Roger Lam  – HAF Subject Matter Expert]

Roger Lam
Hi Mark.  So I think maybe I'll just comment quickly on which are the eligible applicants to the program. There's been a few different questions in the chat about that. And so just to clarify, like we're looking for that level of government that has authority over planning and development and so there are some nuances in that always because I know some municipalities may issue building permits and some may issue like zoning or development permits, but really we're looking at the planning and development

0:44:9.391 --> 0:44:21.891
Roger Lam
so that will be the zoning. So in cases where those are split apart, we're looking for the level of government that issues the zoning and the planning and development permits themselves.

0:44:23.61 --> 0:44:52.71
Roger Lam
And just as I know in different parts of the country, there's, you know, lower tier, upper tier municipalities or municipalities and regional levels of government and there's some questions about how they can work together.  What we're looking for is the eligible applicant which will be the one that has the ability to make those on the ground decisions around planning development to be the primary applicant. There's always the opportunity for them though to work with you either the regional

0:44:52.221 --> 0:45:4.451
Roger Lam
government or the upper tier government to help with submitting the application and there may be cases where like a regional level of government or an upper tier that's representing a number of governments.

0:45:5.51 --> 0:45:34.111
Roger Lam
Like municipal governments want to help with that application process but in every case, it will still require individual applications for each of those lower tier or municipal governments. So there's no group application, there's just helping to facilitate those applications but individual applications. But obviously with that being said, that creates that opportunity for some partnerships between kind of the different tiers of municipal governments.

0:46:9.111 --> 0:46:15.781

[Audio silence as speaker switches back to Mark Stewart]

[Speaker: Mark Stewart – Specialist, CMHC]

Mark Stewart
This is great. Lots of questions and thanks again to our subject matter experts for chiming in, that's great information.

0:46:17.341 --> 0:46:22.931
Mark Stewart
We'll give it another minute.  If there's anything else coming through the chat, we may want to address it.

Mark Stewart
Again to call on our subject matter experts, is there maybe a last call for anything else that we want to bring up today?

0:46:43.721 --> 0:46:45.731
Mark Stewart
All right. Well I see.

Mark Stewart
I think we're all set to wrap it up. So I'm happy to give you all back 12 minutes of your day. So thank you again so much for attending our session. Like we mentioned earlier or maybe you missed it, this recording will be posted on cmhc.ca on the HAF page in the next few days. The presentation will be sent to you

0:47:13.471 --> 0:47:33.841

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to a slide titled "Thank you." A decorative image shows a Canadian sitting and shaking hands with another individual. The National Housing Strategy logo, Canada logo and CMHC logo appear on the bottom of the slide.]

Mark Stewart
in an email, the email that you used to register for this session following today's presentation as well with the survey asking you for your feedback on the session as well.  We really really appreciate that feedback, it lets us know how we can improve and what you like or what you didn't like.

0:47:35.961 --> 0:47:42.51
Mark Stewart
That feedback is very much appreciated and I'll, end it here

0:47:43.51 --> 0:47:48.41
Mark Stewart
a bit early.  Well thank you very very much again and have a wonderful day.

[End of presentation.]