© MB OPINION , 2022 | - Oakville Beaver | Thursday, November 10, PROVINCE MAKING THIS A TOP PRIORITY, WRITES STEPHEN CRAWFORD STEPHEN CRAWFORD Column The PC party was clear that a re-elected govern- ment under the leadership of Premier Doug Ford would introduce a Housing pea Action Plan every for the next “four vent government is passing Bill-28 — More Homes Built Faster inns 2022 — to explore sures to increase ouppIY, make housing more at- tainable for Ontarians and meet the needs of our srowing po population. The inges now being coneierea will create a solid foundation to address Ontario's housing supply crisis and will be supple- mented by continued ac- tion in the future. ae’ government has a stance that solving fhe h housing supply crisis requires bold action — both in the immediate fu- ture and long term. House prices in Ontario have almost tripled in the st 10 years, growing much faster than incomes. € Home ownership is beyond 2 the reach of most — {ime buyers across the § ince, even those with good: 3 @ Paying jo jobs. BOLD ACTION’ NEEDED TO SOLVE HOUSING CRISIS Housing has become too expensive for rental units, rural communities and small towns Ontario is expected to grow by more than two mil- lion people over the | next 10 the Greater Golden Horse- shoe Region. As Ontario's population has grown over the de- cades, housing construc- tion has not kept pace. Not only is the province losing in the game of catch-up, but it also needs to keep up with population growth projections, or prices will gontinves to rise, and hous: ing 09] will bec even snore scares, Over the last four years, the government ha: duced dozens of new nae cies under the Housing Supply Action Plans: More Homes, More Choice in 2019 and More Homes for Everyone in 2022. In 2021 Ontario had over 100,000 housing starts, the highest level since 1987, and well above the annual average of 67,500 starts over the past 30 years. Rental housing starts improved too, with 2021 seeing the most starts in 30 years. It's still not enough to hit the target of 1.5 million new homes over the next 10 ars, Tra nsformative change is never easy, but the Onta- rio government stands ready to encourage even more housing starts and to benefit the province. Stephen Crawford is the MPP for Oakville. He can be reached at ste- phen.crawford- co@pc.ola.org. TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT INSIDEHALTON.COM SNAPSHOT John Angelis photo Aruby-crowned kinglet visits Arbourview Trail Park. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. FINANCIAL PAINS ON THE WAY CAUTIONARY SPENDING ADVISED OVER MONTHS AHEAD, WRITES PETER WATSON Beware, financial storm clouds are closing in. That was the tone of a recent warning by Finance Minister Chrystia Free- land. Her conclusion was that many households are going to be adversely af- fec ted. Interest rates are being aggressively increased to try to control inflation. That will slow the econo- my, businesses will suffer and workers will be laid off. Many households live close to the edge now. In the future, many may not be able to make ends meet. Higher interest rates are likely to continue be- cause the Canadian infla- tion rate is just under sev- difficult, but it will lead toa better outcome than suffer- a financial collapse. Canada has the task of managing its economy. We all have the task of manag- ing our household financ- es. Peter Watson is regis- tered with Aligned Capital Partners Inc. (ACPI) provide en per cent, as reported by le investment advice. Statistics Canada. Tnvestment products are lany are predicting a provided by ACPI. ACPI is recession in 2023. member of the Invest- People will feel the fi- ment Industry Regulatory nancial pain, buttheunfor- Organization of Canada. ispainisnec- The opinic d are essary to slow down our those of the author and not economy. That is why the Bank of Canada has been increasing interest rates. From a financial per- spective, it's acase of tough vas best as possible, when things get financially difficult, try and reduce eliminate some forms of a sonaing That will be necessarily those of ACPI. Only investment-related prot ind services are offered through Watson Securities of ACPI. Watson provides wealth manage- ment services through Watson Investments. He can be reached at www.watsoninvestment- This newspaper, published very Thursday, isa wan of pli, a brite ‘owned ae of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family mprised publications across Ontario. 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