The federal Conservative leader wants to speed up home building in the north.
Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) and the official Opposition Pierre Poilievre attended a rally in Hearst on July 30 and will be at another in Kirkland Lake tonight (July 31), sharing his party’s plans to lower grocery and housing costs and increase wages for people living in Northern Ontario.
In a phone interview with TimminsToday, he said the need to build new homes is a key part of the CPC plan to lower the cost of living in the region.
“It’s about boots on the ground rather than bureaucrats in offices,” he said.
Both Cochrane and Timmins have housing development plans in the works. Poilievre wants to increase the rate of development by 15 per cent per year by requiring municipalities to free up land, speed up permitting, and cut development taxes as a conduction of federal funding.
“All these steps will bring homes you can afford,” he said.
He said that federal land and 6,000 buildings will be up for sale under his plan.
The rallies have focused on lowering the cost of living by eliminating the carbon tax and promoting construction and trade education.
“We’ll put Red Seal materials in high school so teenagers can begin preparing to become carpenters, plumbers, and electricians to build homes,” he said.
The provincial Ministry of Education has already implemented programs for high school students to get credits toward graduation while completing co-ops, and the province announced an additional $260 million in funding through the Skills Development Fund (SDF) Training Stream to fill the shortages in those fields.
The Axe the Tax campaign has pointed the finger at the federal carbon tax as the cause of rising prices in building materials, groceries, and other essentials.
The federal carbon tax was introduced as a way to lower carbon emissions by putting a monetary incentive on companies and individuals to pollute less.
Rebates for individuals, farmers, and small businesses are in place, with Ontarians who are eligible receiving a base rate of $140, an additional $70 for a second adult in the household, and $35 for those under 19 years old.
In April 2024, the cost of the tax on gasoline went up by 3¢/ L.
Poilievre said the lesson he’s taken away from his time in Northern Ontario is that people are struggling.
“People feel like their paychecks won’t cut it anymore,” he said.
The event in Kirkland Lake tonight starts at 6:30 p.m.
