Crown corporation appears to echo Tory party line over NDP housing bill

OTTAWA – A Crown corporation’s decision to comment on an NDP-backed bill is raising questions about whether the Conservative government is using the public service for partisan aims — again.

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. claims on its website that the New Democrats’ proposal for a national housing strategy will cost $5.5 billion in rental subsidies.

That’s the same figure being used by Tory MPs and the Conservative party in their attacks on the bill.

The CMHC didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment on why they posted the material or the source of their information.

Housing advocates point out the private members’ bill doesn’t call for government spending until all parties sit down to produce a plan.

Late last year, two highly partisan letters by International Co-operation Minister Julian Fantino appeared on his ministry’s website before being removed once deemed inappropriate.