Before welcoming newcomers, fix Ontario Brady says

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 28, 2023

QUEEN’S PARK— MPP Bobbi Ann Brady today asked Premier Ford to get the province back on track by making life more affordable and fixing critical services before welcoming newcomers to a broken Ontario. 

“In the current environment, it’s clear Ontario cannot support the people already here – so why subject 800,000 newcomers to a province where critical services we all rely upon are in chaos…Will (Premier Ford) stand up for Ontario and tell Ottawa that we must take stock and get critical services back on track before welcoming more people?”

Brady feels that the premier is frustrated when answering questions in the media because he knows the conditions to build 1.5 million new homes don’t exist while, at the same time, there are ads welcoming more people to live in Ontario. As any real estate professional knows, government does not dictate the housing market, it’s supply and demand that dictates the market. More people means more demand.  More demand means less affordability.

Brady reminded the House that, too often, she hears from families who are looking to leave the province because they’ve lost hope for being able to afford Ontario’s cost of living.  Further, she pointed to signs that potential newcomers have discovered that we are no longer the land of opportunity as permanent resident applications have plummeted.

 Brady’s supplementary question summed up the crux of Ontario’s problem: “What is this government’s plan for making life affordable for the families of Ontario working so hard to make ends meet and yet falling further and further behind?”

Premier Ford agreed with Brady that the cost of living is too high.  He also said they will be building thousands of homes in Haldimand-Norfolk and pointed to cost-savings his government has ushered in such as eliminating licence plate renewal fees and licence plate stickers for passenger vehicles, cutting the tolls on Highway 412 and 418, and reducing gas prices by 10.7 cents (per litre), and holding the federal government accountable for the carbon tax.

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For more information, contact MPP Bobbi Ann Brady at [email protected] or 519-428-0446

VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/jDq6VJzaw8s