The Canadian Home Builders Association is welcoming recent government moves to stimulate the construction of rental properties.

Ottawa is removing the GST on the construction of new rental apartment buildings and the province is planning to do the same.

Executive Director of the home builders association, Alexis Foster says it’s something they’ve been calling for for some time.

She recently met with federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser and it was one of the items on her list.

She admits that the industry is facing a lot of challenges, not the least of which is the labour shortage. She says they’re looking at ways to proactively attract skilled workers to construction.