Creating housing supply and choice
April 26, 2019
The Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) welcomed the new provincial government's 2019 budget, announced on April 11. As the voice of the residential construction industry in Ontario, OHBA represents 4,000 member companies organized into 29 local associations across the province.
“This government recognizes that more homes equals better affordability,” says Joe Vaccaro, OHBA’s CEO. “By cutting red tape, the government is taking a practical approach to creating more housing supply and choice by bringing new housing to the market faster.”
As #homebeliever champions, as the association’s hashtag suggests, the members of OHBA believe in the great Canadian dream of homeownership by supporting more housing choice and supply across Ontario.
OHBA launched the #homebeliever campaign in spring 2018 before the provincial election to engage the government about the importance of the great Canadian dream of homeownership. The campaign successfully served as a conversation starter with over 100 provincial candidates signing the pledge and 59 MPPs representing all four political parties sitting as #homebelievers in today’s Ontario Legislative Assembly.
As for the provincial budget, there was an emphasis on cutting red tape and streamlining approvals through the upcoming Housing Supply Action Plan that will address the barriers getting in the way of creating new housing supply and choice in communities across Ontario.
It also announced a significant investment in transit and transportation with a commitment to move forward with a new kind of partnership with the private sector to optimize the use of government-owned land and increase transit ridership.
“The Ontario Home Builders’ Association welcomes the historic investments the provincial budget is making to expand transit in communities across Ontario. Builders look forward to working in partnership with the provincial government to adopt a market-driven approach to transit-oriented development and creating new housing supply and commercial centres,” says Vaccaro.