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12 uw oS Zz = Ss = COULD AFFECT TOWN'S LONG-TERM } ECONOMIC GROWTH, H 2 WRITES FAYE LYONS z & Housing affordability has become a pressing is- sue imp: act mmuni- ties ofall sizes across Onta- rio. High housing costs are limiting the buying power | Thursday, July 27, 2023 of households and impact- ing businesses ' ability to at- tract and retain talent. Attracting and retain- ing new talent to Oakville is of critical importance to Oakville Chamber mem- bers. By prioritizing the at- traction of new talent to ille, can minimize the potential challenges as- sociated with a skills gap when a large portion ofour labour force and knowl- edge base retires. Furthermore, to mini- insidehalton.com FAYE LYONS Column mize the impacts ofa rapid- ly aging workforce, a col- laborative effort is needed to attract more people to Oakville as well as provide the wit \dequate op- tions to live. The Government of On- tario has committed to million new homes by 2031 to help miti- gate this crisis, a goal that will require strategic ac- tion and significant collab- oration across sectors and alllevels of ‘government. To that end, The Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) released a report; Home Stretched: Tackling vative Solutions and oar nerships, outlining 9) tunities for the private, eb. lic, and non-profit sectors to explore imnovative partner- and supply, and recommen- dations to build on success- ful models. The growing mismatch between housing supply and demand in our commu- nities has made it more diffi- cult for employers to My a bour gaps, particular] the ability of virtual ae eae inaen post-pandemic. Advocating for govern- ment policy on skilled la- bour, housing and infra- structure has been a focus of the Oakville Chamber as all of these policy areas are connected ani ernment consideration. In addition, housing de- velopment has not kept up with the pace of demand, and our socio-economic pressures from inflation and supply chain challeng- es further contribute to the cost of construction. To ensure the long-term resilience of our economy, in its report, the Ontario Chamber calls on govern- ments to balance consulta- tion with bold action, such as ending exclusionary zoning and working in partnership with public and private partners to ad- dress labour shortages. er, the policy brief provides government and industry with a comprehen- sive list of recommenda- tions under the following themes: Labour and Demo- graphics, the Housing Con- tinuum, and Infrastructure and Land Use Plannin; Future planning will re- quire policymakers to take action to address skills mismatches and future needs. This should. “Include improve- ments to the immigration process as well as the rec- ognition of international credentials to respond to chronic labour shortages. ally, we believe that a collaboration between all levels of government and the private and public sec- tors will be essential in de- HOUSING CRISIS HAS REACHED A CRITICAL POINT veloping an inclusive con- struction workforce, cham- pioning affordable housing solutions, and promoting “complete communities." Faye Lyons is the vice- president of government relations and advocacy for the Oakville Chamber of Commerce. She can be reached at faye@oakvil- lechamber.com. The Oakville Beaver values the opinions of its readers, and the communi- ty at large. With that said, we wel- come your letters to the ed- itor on all matters that im- pact area residents. Weask that letters be no more than 275 words, and include the full name and town of the writer. ) OA SEND US YOUR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Your address and tele- phone number must also be included for verification purposes only. We do not publish anon- ymous letters. Letters will be edited or rejected for of- fensive content, factual er- rors, legal issues or space restrictions. ur letters to insi- dehalton@metroland.com.