MISSISSAUGA, ONT. — The Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) was pleased with the provincial government’s throne speech, delivered Aug. 9, in which the Doug Ford government addressed taking steps to deal with the critical housing shortage and recommitted to building 1.5 million homes over the next decade.
The province also vowed to make substantial investments in skilled trades initiatives that will reduce the stigma associated with such careers, particularly for women and youth, while partnering with union-led training centres to provide people with the skills they need, reads a statement issued by RESCON, adding the province also called on the federal government to urgently double the number of skilled trades workers that are allowed to immigrate to Ontario.
RESCON president Richard Lyall said he was glad the government recognized that more must be done to address the housing crisis.
“We have a housing crisis and must pull out all the stops to boost supply because young families are being frozen out of home ownership across Ontario,” Lyall said in a statement.
“These are very crucial and important first steps towards tackling the housing supply shortage. We must reform our development approvals system and tear down the entrenched barriers to building so that we can continue to boost the supply of housing. We must tackle inefficiencies in the system and pull out all the stops to build more housing because the population is growing, and demand is not going away.”
In a statement issued Aug. 9, The Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO) said it welcomed the government’s renewed commitment to building critical infrastructure across Ontario.
In particular, RCCAO said Highway 413, the Bradford Bypass and more public transit are all needed to improve connectivity.
The alliance is looking forward to working with MPPs to advance infrastructure projects across the province.
“In this high inflationary environment, fixing Ontario’s One Call utility locates and removing other cost-driving red tape will help lower costs on public tenders and private projects alike, and reduce delays in project completion,” reads the statement. “The extraordinary summer session at Queen’s Park is a recognition by Premier Ford’s government of the need to act. RCCAO will continue to advocate for meaningful progress in addressing the province’s long-standing challenges so that our members can better do their work.”
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