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It's good to see the federal government budget initiatives on clean technology and affordability. I applaud the new measure in the federal budget for the New Tax-Free First Home Savings Account that will provide relief to first time homebuyers.
Oakville looks forward to applying for the Large/Urban Stream of the Housing Accelerator Fund and increase our affordable housing supply. I hope the Housing Accelerator Fund’s goal of creating at least 100,000 net new homes across Canada is only a first step.
Additional funding will be required from the federal government to keep up with the impacts on housing supply and affordability from their historic increase in immigration to drive economic growth and address labour shortages.
But our new immigrants will require more than a warm welcome, they will need housing, support programs, and community infrastructure and services to ensure that all of us are able to succeed.
We look forward to permanent public transit funding that will serve the additional population, reduce our reliance on private vehicles, and mitigate climate change. The Town of Oakville is committed to electrifying our transit fleet and providing free transit for youth and seniors.
As Chair of the Ontario Auto Mayors, I know all auto industry mayors applaud the Federal and provincial governments’ efforts in making Ontario a global leader on the electric vehicle supply chain.
The Investment Tax Credit for Clean Technology Manufacturing will be a game changer that will increase investment and jobs in electric vehicle manufacturing and the EV battery production.
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