By Staff
August 11th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
During the Premier’s news conference this morning, Matt Ingram CHCH news said:
Premier want to help the Mayor “She is a good person”.
Burlington Mayor Marianne Meade Ward rejects your claim that Burlington is not building houses fast enough. I’m wondering what you say to that and why you singled her out the other day.
Well, first of all, I really like Meed Ward, I think she’s doing a fabulous job. But when everyone else is hitting their targets of 90% 100% 80% 70 and Burlington is 5%.
Premier wants to see more cranes working on development sites.
I did have an opportunity to talk to Mayor Ward and she’s going to be getting together with me – next week I think and and we’re going to help her.
She’s not a bad person. She’s a really good person. Actually, we get along quite well. And she does a good job.
But the numbers aren’t there. Now, maybe they’re waiting for something. If we can help them out, then we’re going to help them out.
But when there’s just a glaring difference of 5% versus everyone else, all other 28 largest municipalities, we have to address it.
Shoe-horning more million dollar condos into the downtown core or around GO stations isn’t going to significantly address the housing crisis. The fact the Premier can’t comprehend this is a measure of how disconnected he and his government are with the economic and social realities of this province.
Any serious discussion around housing affordability in this country needs to propose viable policy options. First, the tax burden is too high, particularly on low and middle income earners. Measures such as having the first $250K of earned income tax exempt for recent grads and new Canadians would provide an incentive to both work and save. Second, providing tax incentives to allow first time homebuyers to purchase houses in economically depressed communities in northern and southwestern Ontario would shift demand pressure off home purchasing in the GTA. Third, promoting and encouraging small developers to build duplexes and triplexes would invite less criticism and antagonism in established neighbourhoods, and would be more affordable for younger families.
We need practical solutions in this country to address housing affordability. Sadly, all we seem to hear from the Premier and his Housing Minister is more rhetoric wrapped up in bravado. It is both tiresome and sadly, unproductive.
Mayor talking about number of approved and Premier counting Starts.
“Well, first of all, I really like Meed Ward, I think she’s doing a fabulous job.”
“I did have an opportunity to talk to Mayor Ward and she’s going to be getting together with me – next week I think and and we’re going to help her.”
If those words, coming directly from the mouth of Der Preem, don’t make your blood run cold, then perhaps you’ve just moved to Ontario.