KENORA – NATIONAL POLITICS – Over the past few weeks, I’ve been in Ottawa advocating for the issues that matter to Northwestern Ontario. One of the biggest barriers to growth across Northwestern Ontario is housing.
Communities across the region are trying to expand; businesses are trying to scale up and hire more workers, and young families want to stay in the region. Further, some seniors are seeking to downsize but cannot find an appropriate alternative. Without sufficiently available housing, all these plans come to a grinding halt. With mortgage rates rising, many homeowners are also worried they will not be able to continue making their mortgage payments. This status quo is simply unacceptable. Canadians expect that if they work hard they’ll be able to afford a good home, but after 11 years of Liberal policies, that promise is broken.
Recently, the Liberals announced a temporary removal of the HST for newly constructed homes in Ontario. Like most things with this government, the rhetoric doesn’t meet reality. The removal of HST is for only one year and is projected to result in a mere 8,000 additional housing units. If we compare this figure to Prime Minister Carney’s already-broken promise that the Liberals would deliver 500,000 new homes every year, this is simply too little, too late. After eleven years of failing to address the housing crisis, the Liberals’ new temporary measure fails to provide the long-term certainty that builders and buyers so critically need.
Municipalities across our region are poised for growth and desperate for more housing. We have no shortage of space to build; and in some communities, lots are already serviced for housing development. But the Liberals have created a market where buyers can’t buy, sellers can’t sell, and builders can’t build. Looking at the city of Kenora alone, there is a shortage of over 1,600 units with that deficit projected to grow over the next five years. Similar trends are occurring in all communities in the region.
While the Liberals fail to realise the damaging effects of their policies, Conservatives are ready to get to work to fix the broken housing market. A Conservative government would introduce a plan for a nationwide removal of the sales tax on all new homes under $1.3 million, permanently, to unlock 30,000 housing starts per year. Conservatives would also cut development charges by 50 per cent, something the Liberals promised but have failed to do, and axe unnecessary and costly housing bureaucracies. Despite Liberals doubling down on the same failed approach, our Conservative team will keep working to deliver affordable housing for all Canadians.
Working for You
If you’re visiting Ottawa and would like to take a tour of Parliament, please get in touch. My office would be happy to help you reserve tour tickets.
As always, if there is anything my office can assist you with, please call me at 807-223-2182 (Dryden) or 807-468-2170 (Kenora) or email me at eric.melillo@parl.gc.ca.
Sincerely,
Eric Melillo
Member of Parliament
Kenora—Kiiwetinoong
