KENORA – POLITICS – It was great to be in Kenora and Dryden to attend the Santa Claus parades. It’s always a pleasure to see such strong community and Christmas spirit and so many people out to celebrate the season. I was also happy to support the Salvation Army by spending time volunteering for the Christmas Kettle campaign and joining the 33rd annual Miracle Marathon in Kenora. Thank you to everyone who has supported this important cause through donations of cash, food, and toys to help make the season brighter for those in need.
Fall Economic Statement
This week the NDP-Liberal government presented the Fall Economic Statement, which is essentially a mini-budget. After 8 years of Justin Trudeau’s inflation-fuelling policies, Canadians were looking for relief. Unfortunately, it is more of the same with higher taxes and more inflationary spending.
Conservatives were calling on the NDP-Liberal government to:
- Cancel their plan to quadruple the carbon tax.
- Announce a plan and date to balance the budget to bring down inflation and interest rates.
- Build homes, not bureaucracy.
Instead, the NDP-Liberal government announced $20 billion in new inflationary spending that will keep inflation and interest rates higher than Canadians can afford. They also propose to increase taxes on the backs of middle-class families.
The government continues to miss the mark on housing as well. Their signature policy is to pour $15 billion into a fund that is building only 1500 homes a year. Meanwhile, we need 5.8 million new homes built by 2030. The measures announced will not build the homes we need; they’ll only add more fuel to the inflationary fire and add to the government’s bureaucracy.
If the NDP-Liberal government was serious about fixing the housing crisis, they would support Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s Building Homes Not Bureaucracy Act. This bill will incentivize municipalities to build more homes by tying their infrastructure funding to their ability to meet housing targets and offer a GST rebate on new residential rental property if the average rent payable is below market rate. Further, this bill will set out a plan to release underutilized federal buildings and land for housing development.
Conservatives will be voting non-confidence in this government. Our common sense plan will axe the tax, balance the budget, and build homes—not bureaucracy—to bring home lower prices for Canadians.
Working for You
If you’re planning to be in Ottawa and are interested in attending Question Period or taking a tour of Parliament, please let me know and my office can help reserve Question Period and tour tickets.
As always, if there is anything my office can assist you with, please call me at 807-223-2182 (Dryden) or 807-468-2170 (Kenora) or email me at eric.melillo@parl.gc.ca.
Sincerely,
Eric Melillo
Member of Parliament
Kenora Riding
