Halton Hills Mayor Ann Lawlor and Councillor Jason Brass shared local issues at meetings with Prime Minister Trudeau, FedDev Ontario Minister Filomena Tassi and Milton MP Adam van Koeverden earlier this week.
The PM was in the region for several local stops and the discussions occurred at van Koeverden’s Milton constituency office as well as in Georgetown.
“The highest priority item in our town that the federal government can help with is housing,” explained Mayor Lawlor. “The private market is not delivering the kind of housing that is needed and we hope the national government can step in.”
“I asked the Prime Minister and MP van Koeverden to particularly support construction of purpose-built rental homes to accommodate seniors, singles and young families,” continued the mayor. “In Halton Hills, we don’t need federal incentives to build million-dollar, single-family dwellings.”
The Region of Halton just published a State of Housing Report, which highlights the shortfall in attainable and affordable housing in this area. The Prime Minister recently chaired a Cabinet retreat with housing issues in every province as the top subject for discussion.
MP van Koeverden noted, “It’s tremendously important to hear from local leaders. They are so connected to their communities and understand what actions our residents need. The Prime Minister, Minister Tassi and I were ready to listen.”
Later that day, a visit to Terra Cotta Cookies in Georgetown by Tassi allowed Councillor Brass to discuss federal economic development initiatives.
“As a former Chamber of Commerce board member, I know that federal government support can make a real difference in our community,” said Brass.
“I was pleased to tour the plant with our members of parliament. They were genuinely interested in seeing how federal small business programs could help boost production capacity and grow local small business and industry.”