Barrie mayor urges action to address housing affordability crisis after shocking presentation
Barrie city councillors got a shocking but not surprising reality check into the affordability challenges facing many residents looking to put a roof over their heads.
On Wednesday evening, councillors were given a presentation by the firm leading the city's Housing Needs Assessment. Phase One of the three-phase project is complete, focussing on collecting the data showcasing the affordability crisis in the city's housing market.
"If the current situation had been around when I was a kid, would I have had a place to live? The answer is probably no, and so we need to take the bull by the horns on this," Mayor Alex Nuttall said to CTV News. "I think the city needs to come to the table on policy to make it easier to build, understanding what the effects are of our policies on the development and building sector and how we can remove some of the barriers that are in place."
Amongst the presentation's key findings were the limited options in the market for moderate and low-income households for both ownership and rental properties as well as the limited supply of rentals available.
Over the last 20 years, the city has only added 350 net new units to its rental supply.
"The next time we have this presentation, there need to be solutions," the mayor said during Wednesday's meeting.
The project will now shift to phase two, focusing on action and implementation. The mayor said he hopes to have the project completed by the end of 2023 so councillors can consider the findings and recommendations as it plans the 2024 budget.
Councillors were also briefed on the County of Simcoe's Homelessness Prevention Strategy and an update from the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit as it recovers from pressures forced by the pandemic.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.