Doug Ford Wants People To Stop 'Whining & Complaining' About Ontario's New Housing Act
Premier Doug Ford made an announcement in Brampton on Wednesday and, in the process, dissed a couple of Ontario mayors.
At the end of the Q&A portion of the press conference, Ford went on a rant about building homes in the province and, more specifically, in Mississauga.
"I'm asking for partnership with Mayor Crombie, Mayor Tory, all the other mayors. If we sit back and think some magical thing's going to happen where you think when people come here, we're going to start living in mud huts? It's not going to happen under our government," Ford said at the press conference.
"We want to work collaboratively, cooperatively with you, but we need to get on board and start moving forward and stop the whining and complaining that I hear day in and day out," the premier added.
New housing act in Ontario
Things took a turn when the premier talked about people complaining about new housing legislation in the province.
The More Homes Built Faster Act, which received Royal Assent last week, is part "of a long-term strategy to increase housing supply and provide attainable housing options for hardworking Ontarians and their families," the government stated in a press release.
"There's 300,000 people coming here every single year," he said. "We have a few mayors that, you know, don't want to play in the sandbox — one being Mayor Crombie, and I don't know what her issue is."
He explained Mississauga's plan to build 120,000 homes in the next 10 years, meaning 12,000 houses every year, which is "far from the city's current annual average of 2,100."
He called out the mayor for continuing to do "the exact same thing over and over again and [expecting] a different result," pointing out that that's "the definition of insanity."
Apparently, he's seen Mayor Crombie handing out flyers criticizing the legislation, and told her to "get on board" and "stop being disingenuous."
The premier added that every single home built in Mississauga has $126,000 in fees added to it, making it "tough on newcomers."
Ford called the idea of supply and demand "very simple" and said it's "Economics 101."
Interest rates in Ontario
Ford's ranting Wednesday didn't end there. He also had lots to say when asked about the Bank of Canada's decision to hike interest rates yet again.
"I just don't like raising interest rates, and I understand their philosophy — they want to want to cool down inflation," he said. "I just, personally, I don't believe in it."
Ford believes in "keeping interest rates low" and "putting more money into people's pockets" so that they have more to spend and invest.
"That's what stirs the economy, not making it more difficult," he added.
Transit in Ontario
All of these comments from the premier came as his government made a funding announcement to help municipal transit services across Ontario continue to recover from the pandemic.
"The Ontario government is providing municipalities with up to $505 million to help ensure municipal transit systems can continue to deliver safe and reliable transit services," they stated in a press release.
It is still unclear where specifically the funds are going. However, TTC spokesperson Stuart Green told Narcity that the TTC's ridership is currently only at 70% of pre-pandemic levels and that they "don't know yet how much of [the $505 million] is coming our way."
Doug Ford's pumpkin seed recipe.