MBC News file photo
“We’re not so much in a housing crisis; we are in an affordability crisis.”
That was the observation earlier this month from Rob Flack, the province’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
The Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP was speaking at Geerlinks Home Hardware, as he toured several of the retail outlets in the riding with Home Hardware President and CEO Ian White (second from the right in photo).
For the St. Thomas stop, they were joined by Mayor Joe Preston and homebuilder Doug Tarry.
Flack pointed out that when prices go up, “people put their thumb on the pause button.”
“When it comes to housing in this province, it takes too long, and it costs too much to get homes built. And that really has been the struggle. And it’s not just a big city issue, it is an entire province issue.
“Uncertainty has been looming, especially due to Donald Trump and all the tariffs and tariff threats, and it’s caused us, especially in Ontario, to face an existential threat, and we’re here to change that.”
This involves what Flack refers to as dealing with three pillars.
“So what can we do? We can create the conditions for you folks to do better, for you folks to succeed. So what have we done? As I said, three things.
We’ve reduced the time it takes to get permits and shovels in the ground. And that’s key. That is our job. That’s the Number 1 pillar.
“Number 2 is the HST.”
Flack cautioned that the federal government has yet to remove the tax, but that it should be implemented shortly.
He continued, “There are over 100,000 jobs in this province related to the homebuilding industry. So whether you’re a builder, whether you’re a building supplier, wherever you are in the trades, over 100,000 jobs are being protected through this initiative.
“And with this growth, what we see will happen in the coming weeks and hopefully within the year, it’ll be just under $3 billion added to our GDP.
“Again, Ministry of Finance numbers, not my numbers, so they’ll be much more accurate than I could be, but it’s pretty neat to see how this is going to be a game-changer.
“The third plank that most people don’t know about is development charges. So a lot of cities, mostly big cities, charge an exorbitant fee if you build a new home. And you guys would know that around here all too well. Although St. Thomas has been a leader in keeping those charges really, really low.”
According to Flack, the federal and provincial governments are going to put $8.8 billion in play in the coming weeks to lower the development charges that municipalities employ.
“We want to see them reduced significantly, up to 30 per cent minimum. And we’re going to fund up to $8.8 billion over the next 10 years to get these water pipes in the ground, to get bridges built, to get transit in place. So it’s a huge commitment. It’s going to create affordability again.
“Because the dream of home ownership should always be within reach.”
Written by Ian McCallum
