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Liberals economic update fails to put shovels in the ground to build affordable homes for Northern Ontarians

On Tuesday, the Liberal government unveiled its fall economic statement (FES) during a national housing crisis, one that Northern Ontarians feel acutely as the homelessness rate is double than it is in big southern Ontario cities.

New Democrats MP Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay) and MP Carol Hughes (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing) say the Liberals failed to meet the moment to address the housing and homeless crisis and to bring down costs for people. The only measures in the FES that will make a difference for Canadians are the result of the NDP pushing, but it remains a drop in the ocean.

“Under the Liberals, life has only gotten harder for Northern Ontarians,” said Angus. “The cost of food has gone up, so has the cost of housing, and people are feeling more and more desperate as they see no little help from the Liberals. We need shovels in the ground now, truly affordable homes built so no one has to sleep outside.

And those services that the NDP has fought tooth and nail for?  Well Poilievre’s Conservatives would only cut and gut services, benefits and programs that so many people in Northern Ontario rely on. This FES statement proves how the Liberals and Conservatives are in it for big CEOs, not making life easier for every day Canadians.”

In this FES, New Democrats called for measures to build homes people can afford which led to an additional $1.3 billion in funding to build an estimate 7,000 affordable homes. The NDP will continue to fight to get this funding available right away and for the amount to be increased in the next budget as much more needs to be done.

New Democrats also called for measures that lower grocery prices and end the free ride of big grocery CEOs. This led to the government announcing further changes to the Competition Act, that is featured in NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s private member’s bill. Those results will ultimately lower prices for Canadians, protect competition and crack down on price-gouging and price-fixing. The NDP is pleased to deliver these results but much more could have been done to lower prices for Canadians.

“Canadians deserve so much more than what was in this update from the Liberals,” said Hughes. “They need a government that has their backs, will stand up to greedy CEOs and fights for them every day. The Corporate Conservatives aren’t in it for working people, and they’ll keep stacking the deck in favour of the ultra-rich. The NDP will keep fighting for working people, and we won’t give up.”

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