CollingwoodToday.ca asked the four main provincial candidates in Simcoe-Grey a series of six questions via email. The following responses were submitted by the candidates and/or their campaigns. The answers have not been checked for accuracy; they represent the candidates’ platforms and opinions. External links have been removed.
Visit collingwoodtoday.ca/2022-ontario-votes for more coverage of the provincial election. Voting day is June 2 and advance voting is open until May 28.
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Q: The cost of owning or renting a home in Collingwood has become out of reach for a large segment of the population, with alarm bells being rung by the service industry, the hospital, local OPP, and area fire departments who are having a hard time keeping staff because there is no housing available in their price range. Homeless shelters have also explained they have nowhere to house people who come into emergency shelters temporarily for help finding a permanent home. A grandmother who has lived in Collingwood since the 1980s ended up homeless, and even with a disability income and spotless tenant record, could not find a place to rent in Collingwood. What needs to happen for there to be more affordable housing in Collingwood, and what will you do to advocate for it?
Keith Nunn, NDP: For decades, Conservatives and Liberal governments have made the housing crisis worse and worse. They keep cooking up rules and loopholes that benefit their buddies – that all make it harder and harder for everyday folks to afford a place of their own.
The NDP will take on greedy billionaires, speculators, flippers and bad developers to cool the market.
We’re going to increase the Non-Resident Speculation Tax (NRST) to 20 per cent, expand it to the whole province and close the loopholes, plus we’ll introduce a speculation and vacancy tax on those who don’t pay taxes in Ontario and own houses they don’t live in.
We’ll allow municipalities to shift property taxes onto properties worth more than $2 million, and off the middle class
Encourage the construction of basement suites, laneway houses and coach houses
We’ll regulate short-term rentals
In addition, the NDP is going to make the market more affordable in the following ways:
- We’re going to help 311,000 households pay the rent with direct financial support
- We’re going to bring back rent control, and end vacancy decontrol – which means a landlord can’t hike prices in between tenants
- We’re making it easier to buy a home, and strengthening homebuyers’ protections
- We’re going to help families buy a home by giving them 10 per cent of the purchase price for your down payment. It’s called the Home in Ontario Program (HOP) and it’s an investment in Ontarians
- We’ll get to work on the job of ending homelessness and giving more people safe and stable housing options
- We’ll build 100,000 new affordable homes and extend the lifespan of 260,000 existing homes
- We’ll build 60,000 supportive housing units
- We’ll restore the goal of ending chronic homelessness within 10 years
Ted Crysler, Liberal: Attainable housing and affordability are at a tipping point across Ontario.
In 2019 the Conservative government promised to address housing affordability, but instead the average house price rose by half-a-million dollars across the province while they scrapped rent controls.
The other day I spoke with a local nurse whose husband is a paramedic, they worry they will never afford a home here. Another community member said despite making a decent salary, they could not afford to rent in Collingwood or The Blue Mountains. This is a travesty.
Unfortunately, this crisis has been building in our riding, pushed aside in favour of private developers who care more about profit than affordability or even our environment.
Our focus must be on sustainable development. One that builds density, not sprawl; protects our farmland, wetlands, and forests; and gives families who live and work in our communities a chance to afford a home.
There are some great initiatives underway, such as The Blue Mountains Attainable Housing Corporation project. It is my commitment to support innovative and collaborative programs like these and advocate for funding at Queen’s Park.
Attainable/affordable housing is at the forefront of the Liberal’s A Place to Grow plan.
We will empower municipal governments to pursue housing solutions, providing up to $300 million over 5 years. Immediate funding will be provided for emergency shelter beds and a housing first approach aimed to end chronic homelessness.
The plan will see 1.5 million homes built, including truly affordable homes like new social and supportive housing for people who need it. To help double the pace of homebuilding, the plan will create a new Ontario Home Building Corporation to finance and build new, affordable homes.
The plan also includes a ban on new non-resident home ownership, an empty homes tax, and province-wide rent control.
Allan Kuhn, Green: Affordable housing can be achieved if we first tax by 20% those corporations and individuals who own several homes. This would take “housing” out of the speculation market. We must also disallow for blind bidding. We should also set up a registry for short-term rentals.
By ensuring homes are for families and people, we can start bringing the cost down. We need to stop urban sprawl. Unsustainable environmentally and economically, this cookie cutter McMansion approach to housing creates the scarcity and affordability crisis.
If we allow for zoning changes that bring in gentle density, triplexes, duplexes, tiny homes, and other forms of housing, we can begin to meet the need. There is a disappearing middle.
In Ontario, the Green Party would build 182,000 new permanently affordable community housing rental homes, including 60,000 permanent supportive homes. We would create a seed fund for cooperative housing through direct funding and mortgage support. Partner with nonprofits,co-ops and community land trusts to use public land for permanently affordable rental housing and attainable home ownership options. Restore the goal of ending homelessness in Ontario within ten years. Utilize a Housing-First model to ensure that stable, permanent housing solutions are the first priority when helping those in need.
Homes are for people and families!
Brian Saunderson, PC: Affordable housing is a crisis, locally, regionally, provincially and nationally. And it has been exacerbated by the pandemic and the recent rise in the cost of living.
However, the problem is not new. It has been building over time as our housing stock has not kept pace with our growth. In addition, the housing stock that has been built is largely single family detached homes that are beyond the reach of many of our residents.
In 2014, Simcoe County passed a 10 Year Affordable Housing Strategy in which it committed to creating 3,200 new affordable units in Simcoe County by 2024. As part of that strategy, the county built 143 affordable units at the two buildings located at Second and High Streets at a cost of $40 million. A very significant and much-needed investment that is just scratching the surface.
The Progressive Conservative government commissioned an Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force to report on the issue across the province. The task force concluded that this is a very complex problem for which there is no single solution and it will require collaboration by all levels of government working with the private sector to effectively address.
Locally, Collingwood struck its own task force which provided a comprehensive report with solid recommendations for local actions.Having served on Collingwood and county council for eight years, I know the power of local action and the resourcefulness of our communities. I will advocate for and work collaboratively with our local governments and stakeholder groups to put local ideas into action and to bring provincial initiatives and opportunities to our communities.
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