The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, March 8, edition that to address the issue of housing affordability in Canada, the country needs to increase the construction of homes by a significant amount. The Globe's Tony Keller writes that the required number of new dwellings is estimated by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. to be 5.8 million by 2030. However, CIBC economist Benjamin Tal has updated this estimate and found that the actual shortfall is over one million homes higher than previously thought. This means that we need to build many times more homes than ever before, but it may be challenging to achieve this in the next few years. Earlier this week, a group called the Task Force for Housing and Climate released a report on what municipalities, provinces and the feds should do about that. Their recommendations are mostly smart and necessary. They would be worth following even if we were not in the midst of a housing crisis. The panel wants to dismantle roadblocks that prevent the private sector from building more housing, particularly in existing neighbourhoods. The report is about slimming down or eliminating permitting processes that turn development applications into long, uncertain and expensive odysseys.