Every year, I conduct a summer listening tour of our riding to hear the thoughts and concerns of my constituents. This is to make sure my priorities as a Member of Parliament are aligned with those I represent.
This year, I placed special emphasis on door-knocking, as I've found that people are often more willing to share personal opinions or ask questions in one-on-one settings. When constituents have the time and interest, their responses prove most informative and helpful to my work. For the second consecutive year, the top three concerns are health care, housing, and the high cost of living. As each issue is substantial enough for its own discussion, I will focus on the first two in today's report and address the third another time.
While most quickly recognize that health care is largely an area under provincial jurisdiction, many are pleased to learn about Pierre Poilievre's pledge to create a "blue seal" program for health professionals. This program is modeled after the highly successful red seal program, which allows skilled trades to operate anywhere in Canada once credentialed in their home province. This common-sense approach helps construction workers seamlessly work on projects nationwide while maintaining the high standards Canadians expect.
Currently, tens of thousands of qualified doctors, nurses, and other health professionals are effectively prevented from working as they await credential evaluation and application processing. Some are forced to wait several years, resorting to odd jobs or driving taxis. The proposed 'blue seal' program would set a 90-day deadline to either approve applications or indicate any remaining gaps in qualifications. It would also offer micro-loans for required courses to achieve certification in Canada.
This initiative resonates with many who understand the challenges of enduring long wait times or emergency center closures across our riding, largely due to a shortage of health care professionals.
Housing affordability is a concern I've long heard from younger families struggling to find safe and affordable homes. Parents and grandparents also express worry that high housing costs are pushing young people away from their loved ones. Employers report difficulty attracting and retaining qualified staff, even for traditionally stable jobs like nursing, firefighting, and policing, due to housing costs. Many are forced to move to more affordable communities, which is increasingly challenging in Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola.
How does the leader of the Common Sense Conservatives plan to help? In addition to his commitment to sell off 15% of federal properties for housing and require large municipalities to zone for high density around transit stations, he recently announced what housing experts have called the boldest measure in a generation: eliminating the GST on new housing (single detached, townhouse, condo, or mobile home) under $1 million.
This would immediately save the average family $40,000 on an $800,000 home. In this case, it would lower the average mortgage by $2,200.
How would we pay for this?
We'd start by reallocating money from programs that have proven ineffective in building more homes at lower prices across the country, such as the "housing accelerator" fund. This is the same fund that the Minister of Housing confirmed at a Parliamentary Committee "doesn't directly build homes."
My question for you this week: Do you support the Conservative proposal to eliminate the federal sales tax (GST) on new homes sold for under $1 million? Why or why not?
I can be reached at [email protected] or call toll-free 1-800-665-8711.
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