With interest rates rising and the cost for rents and mortgages soaring, the office of Terry Dowdall, Conservative MP for Simcoe-Grey is being inundated with calls from frustrated and fearful constituents. Dowdall says, “We are hearing from a lot of people who are stressed and depressed about the soaring cost-of-living.”
Some people are being hit hard, especially those who purchased a home within the past five years and their mortgage rate is coming up for renewal.
Dowdall says, “If interest rates continue to rise, I’m very concerned about how that’s going to impact people in our area. An average home price in the Collingwood/Wasaga Beach area is about $800,000, You can’t even purchase a small house for less than $600,000.” Renting is not a more affordable alternative. In Collingwood, an average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is about $2,000 a month. That’s way out of reach for the average person.
For employers in Simcoe-Grey, the high cost of living is making it more difficult to find employees to work, especially in the tourism and service sectors. Some employers such Tim Hortons have had to provide accommodation just to secure workers. The labour shortage was also exacerbated by people retiring early during the pandemic.
Giving up the dream of home ownership
Inflation is being fueled in part by wild government spending. Dowdall says, “While some of the spending was necessary to stabilize the economy during the pandemic, the federal Liberal government has spent over $200 million foolishly, and we continue to go down that road.”
Dowdall adds, “Conservatives have been calling on the government to rein in out-of-control inflationary spending. That’s driving up inflation, which in turn is driving up interest rates.” High mortgage interest rates and a shortage of housing is putting the dream of home ownership out of reach for many. Increasing the supply of housing would be a good start. Dowdall says, “It used to be that 39% of your income was spent on housing. Now, it’s 62%, after eight years of Justin Trudeau. Eight years ago, the average mortgage payment in Canada was $1400, today it’s over $3,000 a month.”
The Liberals have had a chance to fix the housing supply issues. But because of inflation and the high cost of housing, people are dipping into their savings and living on lines of credit.
It doesn’t have to be this way
Canada has an educated workforce. It has the largest consumer market in the world right next door. It has all the critical minerals for electric vehicles, but MP Terry Dowdall says, “Our economic potential is being stifled by the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau. If the only thing people can do is work to pay the bills, they become stressed and frustrated. People are calling me to complain they don’t have any more time, they don’t have any more money. It doesn’t have to be this way.”
Contact MP Terry Dowdall via email: [email protected]
Phone 1-866-435-1809
Website: www.terrydowdallmp.ca