06202024 June 20, 2024

CHAPLEAUEXPRESS

Two CSC Nouvelonstaffmembersrecognizedfortheirexceptionalcontributions

The Conseil scolaire catholique Nouvelon

recently unveiled the two staff members who are being recognized for their exceptional contributions: Mr. Gilles Richer, teacher at École St-Dominique (Sudbury), and Ms. Rébecca Langelier, teacher at École secondaire catholiqueTrillium (Chapleau).This distinction, which is awarded to two employees eachyear,recognizesindividualswhotrulystand outintheirrole.

Rébecca Langelier is an accessible role model for students and her peers. She lives her FrancophoniewithprideandsharesherChristian faith openly. Active in the Diocese of Hearst activities, this teacher plays a leadership role at ÉSCTrilliumbyorganizingactivitiestopromote Francophone culture as well as supporting the school's student radio and student parliament. Committed to creating a welcoming space, she assistsintheorganizationofmassesandpastoral celebrations while promoting interactions between ÉSC Trillium and École Sacré-Cœur students. Ms. Langelier also encourages her students to contribute to their community by participatinginthefoodbankeffortsandsinging fortheChapleauseniors.

Gilles Richer stands out for his ability to create unique opportunities for his students to live their Francophone and Catholic culture. While supervising their involvement in the school's student radio, he supports students in their discovery of Francophone artists and helps organizeEucharisticcelebrations.Committedto providing students with a welcoming and engaging learning environment, this teacher createsfunactivitiesthatsupportstheacquisition of new knowledge. In addition to helping students exercise their leadership skills during the St-Dominique Olympiads, Mr. Richer oversees their participation in Twin Forks Park projects, where they are involved in the maintenance of a community garden and the preservation of biodiversity in an urban environment.

“Itisextremelyimportantforustohonour theexceptionalindividualswhocontributetothe high standards of Catholic French-language education offered in our schools,” stated Ms. SuzanneSalituri,CSCNouvelonBoardChair.

“We are very lucky to have employees like Rébecca and Gilles who give themselves, heartandsoul,forourstudentsandourschools,”

Deuxmembresdupersonneldu CSC Nouvelonreconnuspourleurscontributionsexceptionnelles

Le Conseil scolaire catholique Nouvelon a toutrécemmentprocédéaudévoilementde deux membres du personnel qui sont reconnuspourleurscontributionsexceptionnelles:

M. Gilles Richer, enseignant à l'école StDominique (Sudbury), et Mme Rébecca Langelier, enseignante à l'école secondaire catholique Trillium (Chapleau). Ce prix est remis chaque annéeàdeuxmembresdu personnel du CSC

Nouvelonquisedémarquentparleurfaçond'êtreet defaire.

Rébecca Langelier est un modèle accessible pour ses élèves et ses pairs. Elle vit sa francophonie et partage sa foi chrétienne ouvertement.Active dans les activités du Diocèse de Hearst, cette enseignante tient un rôle de leadership à l'ÉSC Trillium en organisant des activités de valorisation de la francophonie ainsi qu'en appuyant la radio étudiante et le parlement des élèves. Engagée à créer un espace accueillant, elle participe à l'organisation de messes et de célébrations de la parole tout en encourageant l'interactionentrelesélèvesdel'ÉSCTrilliumetde

l'école Sacré-Cœur. De plus, Mme Langelier encourage ses élèves à s'impliquer dans leur collectivitéencontribuantauxeffortsdelabanque alimentaireetenchantantpourlespersonnesâgées deChapleau.

Gilles Richer se démarque par sa capacité de créer des occasions uniques pour ses élèves de vivre leur culture francophone et catholique. Tout en encadrant leur implication dans la radio étudiante,ilappuielesélèvesdansleurdécouverte des artistes francophones et participe à l'organisation des célébrations eucharistiques de l'école. Engagé à offrir aux élèves un espace d'apprentissageaccueillantSuiteP.5

addedMr.PaulHenry,DirectorofEducationand SecretaryTreasurerattheCSCNouvelon.

RébeccaLangelier

ÉSCTrilliumstudentstakepartincanoeoutingaspartofOutdoorEducationcourse

Grade 11 students in Mr. Julian Boucher's Outdoor Education course at École secondaire catholique Trillium (Chapleau) recently enjoyed a memorablecanoetrip.Duringthehalf-daytrip,the students took their canoes from the school to the ChapleauRiver(Kebsquasheshing).

To begin with, the students took a fourkilometre trip on the water, followed by a onekilometreportagethroughthestreetsofthetownof

Chapleautoreachtheothersideoftheriver.They thencompletedanotherseven-kilometrecanoetrip to a restaurant to round off their trip with a good lunchbeforeheadingbacktoschool.

Thistripwaspartofthefinalstageoftheir introductory tandem lake canoeing certification with Paddle Canada! These students from ÉSC Trillium are now ready to embark on other great excursionswithconfidenceandincompletesafety!

Uneexcursiondecanotquiassurele«portage» desavoirdanslecadreducours

dePleinair

Lesélèvesde11eannéeducoursdePleinairdeM.JulianBoucheràl'École secondaire catholique Trillium (Chapleau) ont tout récemment fait une sortie mémorableencanot.Durantcevoyaged'unedemi-journée,lesélèvesonttransporté leurscanotsdel'écolejusqu'àlarivièreChapleau(Kebsquasheshing).

Pourcommencer,lesélèvesontfaituneexcursiondequatrekilomètressur l'eau suivie d'un portage d'un kilomètre dans les rues de la ville de Chapleau afin d'atteindrel'autrecôtédelarivière.Ilsontensuitecomplétéunautreseptkilomètres encanotjusqu'àunrestaurantafindeconclureleurtrajetavecunbondîneravantle retouràl'école.

Cette excursion faisait partie de la dernière étape de leur certification en introductionaucanotageentandemsurlacavecPaddleCanada.Cesélèvesdel'ÉSC Trillium sont maintenant prêts à entreprendre d'autres belles excursions avec confianceetentoutesécurité!

MIKE C.ALLEMANO - RETIRED

Chapleau Moments

by MichaelJ. Morris

ThefirstschoolsestablishedinChapleau shortlyafterthecommunitywere establishedin 1885 was in a tent, according to a handwritten history of life in the fledging community includedintheRichardBrownleepapers.

The handwriting is excellent but I can't say for sure if Mr. Brownlee, who arrived in ChapleauinFebruary1886, wroteitsomeyears later but it is a great read. Mr. Brownlee's first barbershopwasinatentin"old"Chapleauwhere the Lady Minto Hospital was built at Elm and Queenstreetsin1914.Helaterin1886movedto a leanto attached to the T.A.Austin store in the presentdowntownarea,

As an aside, I wonder if today anyone is keeping"handwritten"notesonChapleauasitis today.IfsoIwouldlovetohearfromyou.

Thefirstschoolwas inatent,theninthe firstRomanCatholicChurchatBirchandLorne where Collins Home Hardware is now for short time,thenbacktoatentlocatedonBeechStreet where the Trinity United Church Manse is locatedbesidethechurch.

Thewriternotedthat"Itwasaverypretty spotandthetentnestledamongthebigpinetrees. Greatfunwashadwhenthepineconesdropped on the roof making a drumming noise. There weretwelveroughhewnseatsintheschool.

"Another feature of this school was the bigstoveinthemiddle,andthosewhosatnearit roasted,whilethoseawayfroze."

Pineconesdroppingonroofoftentnestledamongpine trees 'greatfun'forpupilsatearlyChapleauschool

However, by about 1891, a school waslocatedinasmallbuildingonPinebeside theRectoryofSt.John'sAnglicanChurch.

Thiswasschoolinginthecommunity asthe20thcenturyarrived,andChapleauwas incorporatedasamunicipailityin1901.

Education of the children however was on the minds of the first council as the writer says that "the first act of the new council was to float debentures for the erectionofapublicschool."

ItwasbuiltbesideSt.John'sAnglican Church, and later became Chapleau High School

G.B. Nicholson was the first reeve and he was returned by acclamation in the election held each year until he retired from the office in 1913. Members of the first council were A. Rathwell, D. Royal, P.J. MacFarlaneandW.Boswell.

Once again my sincere thanks to Margaret Rose (Payette) and Bobby Fortin whokindlyloanedmetheRichardBrownlee papers.Iamwritingthiscolumnasastateof emergency was declared for Cranbrook and area because of wildfires. Our heat wave continuestoo.

ADDENDUM

In my column on CharlesW. Collins, in providing the names of family members who have managed the business I failed to include Susan Collins, granddaughter of Mr. Collins and daughter of George Collins. My apologies!ThanksJordanfortheemail.

Also,thegremlinswerereallyatworkasI wrote in my lead of all placesthatin1918,the business would mark 90 years with the Collinsname.Itshould

Brownlee

havebeen2018,nextyear.

I started my newspaper career at the TimminsDailyPress60yearsagoonSeptember 1,1964,andtherearestilloccasionswhenIdon't manage to get the words right! My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Richard

Chapleauschoolcirca1891besideAnglicanchurchrectory

ChapleauPublicSchoolcirca1902laterChapleauHighSchool

from OTTAWA Rapport d’Ottawa

by/par Carol Hughes Federal member of Parliament Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing

In her mandate letter, the Minister of Indigenous Services was tasked with the goal of working “…to eliminate all remaining long-term drinking water advisories, and closing the infrastructure gap by 2030, with a focus on buildingsustainableandaffordablehousing.”This is a laudable goal, but what exactly is the infrastructure gap felt by First Nations, what is required to achieve the goal of closing this gap, and is the government actually moving towards achievingthisgoal?

On the first point, simply put, the infrastructuregapbetweenFirstNationsandnonIndigenouscommunitiescanbestbedescribedby what they have access to, and more importantly, what they don't. Clean drinking water, for example, is one of the most visible divides between First Nations and non-Indigenous communities, so much so that we've been talking abouteliminatingboilwateradvisoriesonreserve for decades, and that the issue is so persistent it appeared in the Minister's mandate letter. Although eliminating boil water advisories is vital, it remains one of the most critical infrastructure gaps for 28 First Nation communitiesacrossCanada.

TheAssemblyofFirstNations(AFN)has recently released a report that explores exactly howmuchtheFederalgovernmentneedstospend to close the infrastructure gap, and the amount is frankly staggering. In their report, the AFN presumesthattheFederalgovernmentwouldneed to invest $349.2 billion to meet the calls of the MinisterofIndigenousServices'mandateletterto closethatgapby2030.Ahugesumofmoney,for certain,butthosenumbersaremeanttoaccountfor successive governments over the course of our nation'shistoryrefusingtomeettheneedsofFirst Nationspeople.Thereportactsasasortofbudget request to the Federal government to help guide wherethesecriticalinfrastructuregapslay.Again, these aren't requests for funding that go beyond what non-Indigenous Canadians have access to, thisisacostingofwhatwouldbringFirstNations communities in line with the same level of infrastructure and access to services received in non-Indigenouscommunities.

Sowherewouldtheseinvestmentsneedto be placed, and how is the government currently doing to reduce the infrastructure gap? AFN has fullycostedthis,andindicatetheinvestmentsthat would be required under 10 categories, include: $12.6billionineducation;$35.5billionforyearly road access; $30.9 billion for climate adaptation;

InfrastructureFundingGapforFirstNationsaGrowingConcern

$12.7 billion to achieve net zero emissions; $1.6 billion for accessibility; $135.1 billion for housing; $59.5 billion for infrastructure (more specifically, ports, transportation infrastructure, utilitiesinfrastructure,etc.);$5.2billionfordigital connectivity; $0.7 billion for remaining critical drinking water advisories; and $55.4 billion for 401 First Nations direct asks already made to Indigenous Services Canada (which includes funding for cultural centres, social programs, recreationalassetslikeparks,etc.)

WhiletheMinistermaintainsthatshewill meet the goal set out in her mandate letter, the reality is that more investments are needed. The government isn't keeping pace with what's necessary on First Nations housing, with documents last year showing they've spent only $2.37 billion between 2015 and early 2023, far shortofwhattheAFNstatesisnecessary.Budget 2024proposedtoinvestjust“…$918millionover five years, starting in 2024-25, to Indigenous ServicesCanadaandCrown-IndigenousRelations

andNorthernAffairsCanadatoaccelerateworkin narrowingFirstNations,Inuit,andMétishousing andinfrastructuregaps.”

These investments aren't nearly enough. And to be clear, they would be investments. Infrastructurespendinghastraditionallybeenone ofthebestthingsagovernmentcanspendmoney on, creating jobs and jumpstarting local economies. Auditor General Karen Hogan recentlypublishedareportthatindicatespeoplein First Nations communities are four times more likely to live in crowded housing and six times more likely to live in housing in need of major repairs than non-Indigenous people. This is unacceptable.

Closing the housing and infrastructure gaps on First Nations communities is vital. It's time for the Minister of Indigenous Services to follow her mandate and for the Federal government to prioritize infrastructure investmentsinFirstNationcommunities.

DéficitdefinancementdesinfrastructurespourlesPremièresNations,unepréoccupationcroissante

Dans sa lettre de mandat, la ministre des Services aux Autochtones s'est vu confier le mandat d'« éliminer tous les avis à long terme concernant la qualité de l'eau potable qui subsistent, et de combler les écarts en matière d'infrastructures d'ici 2030, en mettant l'accent sur la construction de logements durables et abordables.»Ils'agitd'unobjectiflouable,mais quels sont exactement les écarts en matière d'infrastructures ressentis par les Premières Nations,quefaut-ilfairepouratteindrel'objectif de combler les écarts, et le gouvernement s'efforce-t-ilréellementd'atteindrecetobjectif?

En ce qui concerne le premier point, les écarts en matière d'infrastructures entre les communautés des Premières Nations et les communautés non autochtones peuvent facilement être illustrés par ce à quoi les communautés ont accès et, plus important encore,parceàquoiellesn'ontpasaccès.L'eau potable,parexemple,estl'undesfossés lesplus visibles entre les communautés des Premières Nations et les communautés non autochtones, à tel point que nous parlons depuis des décennies d'éliminer les avis d'ébullition de l'eau dans les réserves et que la question est si persistante qu'elle figure dans la lettre de mandat de la ministre. Il est essentiel d'éliminer les avis d'ébullition de l'eau, mais la question demeure l'un des écarts en matière d'infrastructures les plus critiques pour 28 communautés des PremièresNationsauCanada.

L'Assemblée des Premières Nations (APN) a récemment publié un rapport sur le montant exact que le gouvernement fédéral devrait dépenser pour combler les écarts en matière d'infrastructures, et le montant est franchementstupéfiant.Danssonrapport,l'APN

estime que le gouvernement fédéral devrait investir349,2milliardsdedollarspourrespecter lesengagementsénoncésdanslalettredemandat de la ministre des Services aux Autochtones, à savoir combler les lacunes d'ici 2030. Il s'agit certesd'unesommeénorme,maislemontantest censétenircomptedesgouvernementsquisesont succédé au cours de l'histoire du pays et qui ont refusé de répondre aux besoins des Premières Nations. Le rapport constitue une sorte de demande de budget adressée au gouvernement fédéralpourl'orienterquantauxécartsenmatière d'infrastructures essentielles. Le financement demandé ne dépasse pas celui qui concerne les Canadiens non autochtones. Les calculs connexessonteffectuésdesorteàpermettreaux communautés des Premières Nations d'atteindre le même niveau d'infrastructure et d'accès aux services dont bénéficient les communautés non autochtones.

Alors, où faudrait-il investir et comment le gouvernement s'y prend-il actuellement pour réduire les écarts en matière d'infrastructures? L'APN aprocédéàuneévaluationcomplètedes coûts et indique les investissements qui seraient nécessairesdans10catégories,notamment:12,6 milliards de dollars en éducation; 35,5 milliards de dollars pour l'accès routier annuel; 30,9 milliardsdedollarspourlesmesuresd'adaptation aux changements climatiques; 12,7 milliards de dollars pour la carboneutralité; 1,6 milliard de dollars pour l'accessibilité; 135,1 milliards de dollarspourlelogement;59,5milliardsdedollars pour les infrastructures (plus précisément, les ports, les infrastructures de transport, les infrastructures de services publics, etc.); 5,2 milliards de dollars pour la connectivité numérique;0,7milliarddedollarsSuiteP.7

Deuxmembresdupersonneldu CSC Nouvelonreconnuspourleurscontributionsexceptionnelles

SuitedelaP.1 et engageant, cet enseignant crée des activités ludiques qui favorisent l'acquisition de nouveaux savoirs.Enplusd'appuyerlesélèvesàexercerleur leadership lors des Olympiades de St-Dominique, M.Richerencadreleurparticipationauxprojetsdu ParcTwinForksoùilsparticipentàl'entretiend'un jardin communautaire et contribue au maintien de labiodiversitéenmilieuurbain.

« Nous croyons à l'importance de reconnaitre ces personnes qui contribuent à

l'excellence de l'éducation catholique de langue française offerte dans nos écoles, » déclare Mme SuzanneSalituri,présidenteduCSCNouvelon.

« Noussommestellementchanceuxd'avoir des employés comme Rébecca et Gilles qui se donnent cœur et âme pour nos élèves et nos écoles, » explique M. Paul Henry, directeur de l'éducation et secrétaire-trésorier au CSC Nouvelon.

Photo:RébeccaLangelier(centre)LucTessier etTracey-LynnFoucault

OPPofficershotinTimminsduringsearch forwantedman,1personincustody

An Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer was shot and one person was taken into custody in Timmins on Wednesday during an ongoing investigation.

The shooting occurred during an altercation on Moose island on Night HawkLake.

The officer was injured and transportedtoalocalhospitalandwasin stablecondition.

Police were searching for a 43year-old man, who they believe was connected to a murder, when the officer wasshot.

The 43-year-old has been the

subject of a search since a 30-year-old manwasfounddeadofagunshotwound inEganTownshiplastmonth.

The OPP said in a news release there is no further public safety risk relatedtotheincident.

The Special Investigations Unit hasbeencalledintoinvestigate.

Onsocialmedia,the SIU posted that "multiple OPP officers discharged their firearms" at a man, who was not seriouslyinjured.

The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conductofpolicethatmayhaveresulted indeath,seriousinjury,sexualassaultor the discharge of a firearm at a person.

MacDonald,

was arrested Wednesday following a shootout with Ontario Provincial Police. One officer was shot and wounded during the operation.(OPPphoto)

Lucas

43,

MOMENTS IN TIME

On July 2, 1992, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking broke British publishing records when hisbook"ABriefHistoryofTime"helditsplaceon the nonfiction bestseller list for three and a half years, selling more than 3 million copies in 22 languages.

Déficitdefinancementdesinfrastructurespourles PremièresNations,unepréoccupationcroissante

SuitedelaP.4 pour les avis qui subsistent d'ébullition de l'eau potable d'une importance capitale; et 55,4 milliards de dollars pour 401 demandes directes desPremièresNationsdéjàadresséesàServices aux Autochtones Canada (qui comprennent le financementdecentresculturels,deprogrammes sociaux, de biens récréatifs tels que les parcs, etc.).

Bien que la ministre maintienne qu'elle atteindra l'objectif énoncé dans sa lettre de mandat, le fait est que davantage d'investissements sont nécessaires. L'année dernière, des documents ont montré que le gouvernementn'avaitdépenséque2,37milliards dedollarsentre2015etledébutde2023,cequi estloind'êtresuffisantpourrépondreauxbesoins del'APN enmatièredelogementdesPremières Nations. Le budget de 2024 proposait des investissements de seulement « 918 millions de dollars sur cinq ans, à compter de 2024-2025, pour permettre à Services aux Autochtones CanadaetàRelationsCouronne-Autochtoneset AffairesduNordCanadad'accélérerlestravaux visantàcernerleslacunesenmatièredelogement et d'infrastructure des Premières Nations, des InuitsetdesMétis.»

Ces investissements sont loin d'être suffisants. Soyons clairs : il s'agit bien d'investissements. Les dépenses d'infrastructure sont traditionnellement l'une des meilleures mesuresqu'ungouvernementpuisseprendre,car elles permettent de créer des emplois et de relancer les économies locales. La vérificatrice générale Karen Hogan a récemment publié un rapport indiquant que, comparativement aux personnes non autochtones, les membres des communautésdesPremièresNationssontquatre fois plus susceptibles de vivre dans des

logementssurpeuplésetsixfoisplussusceptibles de vivre dans des logements nécessitant des réparations importantes. La situation est inacceptable.

Il est essentiel de combler les lacunes en matière de logement et d'infrastructure dans les communautésdesPremièresNations.Ilesttemps que la ministre des Services aux Autochtones remplisse son mandat et que le gouvernement fédéral donne la priorité aux investissements dans les infrastructures des communautés autochtones.

DeadlinesonWednesdays at3p.m.

Pimii Kamik Gas Bar & Gift Shop

Located on the Chapleau Cree First Nation SUMMER HOURS

will be from 7 a.m. - 10 p.m., 7 days a week

Drop by and check out our line of Authentic Native Crafts, Unique Gift Ideas, Jewellery, and Gift Certificates TOO!

We also carry road trip snacks, which includes Subs, Chips, Pop, plus a whole lot more.

Your Propane Refilling Station

needtospeakwith the Outreach Worker when she is in your community, you can call the Centre at any time to set up an appointment. You do not need to be a residentoftheCentreinordertouseourservices.Ifyouneedsomeoneto talktoorifyoujustneedsomeonetolisten,callour

Fax 705-856-4862

tgendron@northernlightsford.ca sales@northernlightsford.ca

We are now only days away from the officialbeginningofsummer.Manyofuscountthe minutes until we can take some time to get away from our regular routines and enjoy the warm weather, sunshine, and, hopefully, some of NorthernOntario'snaturalbeauty.Whilesittingby the lake, attending local events, or having friends overforabarbecuearewhatwefirstenvisionwhen we think of summer; in the back of our minds, we arealsothinkingaboutthoseoddjobsandprojects that we can get done now that the weather has turnedpleasant.

Ofcourse,thosechoreswe'vebeenputting off are never in the front of our minds when we picture what we will do with our free time away fromworkorschool.Butweknowdeepdownthat keepingthemonthebackburnertoolongisarecipe fordisaster.

When the Progressive Conservative Party votedtorecessthelegislatureearlierthanplanned andtoextendituntilOct.21stlastweek,Icouldn't helpbutthinkthattheyarefallingintothissummer mentalityandpushingasidethesometimesarduous workofthelegislatureinfavourofheadingbackto theirridingsandfocusingontheconstituencywork thatmakesuptheotherhalfofanMPP'sjob.

Don't get me wrong; I firmly believe that our work in our home constituencies is vitally importanttoourroleaslegislators.Torepresentthe people who've elected us, we must spend time in communities and on the doorstep, understanding theuniquesituationsinourlocalities.Iimmensely enjoy the work I get to do inAlgoma-Manitoulin. I'm sure most of my colleagues enjoy working in their ridings. However, we cannot let politically motivatedgoalsdetractfromwhatweknowneeds tobedone.Andletmesaythereisplentyofworkat thelegislaturethatneedstobedone.

One of the biggest issues requiring the legislature'simmediateattentionishousing.Every majoropinionpollinOntariooverthelastyearhas shownthathousingaffordabilityistop-of-mindfor people in our province. It is also the area where, according to a February poll by Pallas, 67% of Ontariansdonotbelievethegovernmenthasbeen doingenough.

Unfortunately, I am inclined to be in the same camp as this two-thirds majority. Here in Algoma-Manitoulin, we've seen the supply of affordable housing rapidly decline. According to the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), as recently as 2018, most homes in almost every part of our riding were valued at $250k or less. Since 2023, the trend of available housing within that range has been declining, whichisexpectedtocontinue.

Forexample,inElliotLake,therehasbeen

Fixingthehousingcrisisisnoteasywork,butit's ajobwecan'taffordtoputoffanylonger

a34.5%decreaseinhomesvaluedat$250korless. InHuronShores,therehasbeena39.2%decrease. And in Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands, there's been a 66.3% decrease in these homes. I couldgoon,butIencouragereaderstolookatthis information for themselves on MPAC's website here.

Notonlyisthecostofhousingrisingyearover-year, the latest figures from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) are telling us that housing starts are falling. In April 2024, the CMHC reported that housing starts for single detached homes fell 8% from last year, and all other housing types fell 41%. These numbers mean that, in Ontario, we had roughly the same levelofconstructionstartsaswehadin2018.This ishardlywhatwewouldwanttoseewhenlooking atthepricedisparityfromthentonow.

In the spring meeting period of the legislature, we had one major piece of housing legislation come from the government outside of thebudgetintheformofBill185,theCuttingRed Tape and Building More Homes Act. While this legislation did include some good policies that were broadly agreed upon (such as reversing the previous changes to development charges that threatened to raise municipal taxes and granting 'use-it-or-lose-it powers to local governments), it wasnotaverysubstantialpieceoflegislationgiven the crisis we face and mainly focused on housing issuesinsouthernOntario.

John Michael McGrath, writing in TVO, summedupthislegislationveryaptlywhenhesaid, "Noneofthoseitemsfromthegovernment'splanis bad.They'rejustnotsufficient."

However, I believe in fairness and giving creditwhereitisdue.Inthemostrecentbudget,the government included funding opportunities to address the deficit in municipal infrastructure that has hampered housing starts in many parts of the province,especiallysmallandruralareaslikeours. Municipalitiesthatapplyforandareawardedthese fundswillbeabletodevelopnewareasmoreeasily and rapidly for housing, upgrade capacity within infrastructuresuchaswatertreatmentfacilities,and ultimatelyensurethatratepayersorhomebuyersdo notbearthesecosts.Thisisagoodpolicybutonly addressesafractionoftheissues.

Part of what has slowed down the legislative push on housing, I would hazard to guess, is the number of policy reversals that PremierFordandhisMinisterofHousinghavehad to make over the course of their most recent mandate. I mentioned above that part of Bill 185 was reversing an earlier policy on development chargesformunicipalities.Therehasbeenalitany of other reversals that this government has been pressured into making on the housing file, including the expansion of certain urban boundariesandtheremovalofparcelsoflandfrom

the Greenbelt for development. In lurching between policy and reversal, the Premier has damaged the government's relationship with its most important partners when it comes to home building: municipalities and developers. This has undoubtedly contributed to their timidness in developing new legislation and their desire to put housingonthebackburner.

NorthernOntariohasuniquechallengesto overcome in providing an adequate stock of affordable housing, which have not been widely discussedoraddressedbythisgovernment.A2021 report by the CMHC highlighted 7 issues of pressingconcernintheNorth:

1. Highconstructioncostsputaconstrainton newdevelopment.

2. Alackofaffordablerentalhousing.

3. Poor condition of existing housing stock andthecostofmaintenance.

4. Highenergycosts.

5. Lack of adequate housing for a growing seniorpopulation.

6. A growing prevalence of homelessness in theNorth.

7. Limitedsupportivehousingandagrowing population in need of social housing or non-profit housing.

Addressing these issues would go a long wayinstabilizingtheaffordablehousingmarketin Northern Ontario. If the government were to implement measures such as providing financial assistance for home repairs, promoting local training opportunities in the skilled trades, converting vacant buildings into affordable rental accommodations, investing in non-profit housing, and subsidizing the construction of assisted-living and seniors housing, there would be a tangible effect on housing supply and prices across our region.

In the 2024 budget, the government projectedthathousingstartsinOntariowilldecline againthisyear,leavingthemwellshortoftherate needed to reach the target of building 1.5 million homesby2030.Theyalsodonotexpecttheaverage priceofahometodropanytimesoon;rather,their models predict it will reach almost $1 million by 2027.

With all these bleak outcomes on the horizon under our current housing policy framework,itisinexcusabletoputthisworkaside. While the appeal of a long summer recess has clearly won over Premier Ford and his cabinet ministers, Ontarians should not easily forget the costitwillhaveforthemdowntheroad.

As always, I invite you to contact my office about these issues or any other provincial matters. You can reach my constituency office by email at mmantha-co@ola.org or call Toll-free 1-800-8311899.