Vaughan, April 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) is pleased that the provincial government has reiterated its commitment to tackling the housing supply problem, and also intends to continue making investments in skilled trades training initiatives.
“Housing supply is a major issue in Ontario and escalating prices threaten to derail our economic recovery,” says RESCON president Richard Lyall. “We applaud the government for taking forward-thinking action and pledging to deliver a housing supply action plan every year for the next four years, with policies and tools that support multi-generational homes and missing middle housing.”
The budget, dubbed Ontario’s Plan to Build, repeats many of the housing initiatives that were announced earlier in the More Homes for Everyone plan and proposes implementing a long-term strategy to address the housing crisis, informed by recommendations of the Housing Affordability Task Force, and increase housing supply by building 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years.
RESCON applauds additional funds that have been announced for skilled trades training, including $114.4 million over three years in the Skilled Trades Strategy to simplify the system and break the stigma associated with the skilled trades, $15.8 million to the Skills Development Fund for 2022-23 to expand training facilities, and $6.9 million over three years to enhance the Investing in Women’s Futures Program.
RESCON echoes Ontario’s call for the federal government to expand Canada-Ontario Labour Market Transfer Agreements, which gives the province additional funds and flexibility to address labour market needs, as domestic recruitment and retention alone will not sustain the construction industry’s labour needs. RESCON is also pleased the province is investing another $15.1 million over three years in the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program.
The budget also sets aside more than $204 million to improve access to mental health and addiction services. This builds on the 2020 Roadmap to Wellness aimed at addressing longstanding mental health and addictions needs. This additional funding is important as RESCON works to reduce the stigma in construction around mental health and addictions challenges amongst workers in our industry.
Background on RESCON: RESCON is the province’s leading association of residential builders committed to providing leadership and fostering innovation in the industry.
