By: Hon. Lena Metlege Diab, Member of Parliament for Halifax West
I want to wish a very happy Mother’s Day to all moms, grandmothers, and those who take on a mothering role.
This month, my fellow parliamentarians and I will continue debate on Budget 2022, the prudent and progressive fiscal plan we introduced in April. This year’s budget is focused on providing housing, continuing our green transition, and ensuring affordability for Canadians and growth for Canada in an uncertain world. It also includes significant investments to clear health care and immigration backlogs, provide dental care, and assist the people of Ukraine. I am looking forward to debating the budget with my colleagues and want to share some highlights from it with you.
To address the need for more housing supply and to put the dream of home ownership back in reach, the budget includes some important initiatives. Among them is a plan to double the number of new homes built across the country. That commitment is fueled by several new investments including the establishment of a $4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund, the creation of a multigenerational home renovation tax credit, new and scaled up rent-to-own projects, an extended Rapid Housing Initiative, and the largest investment in new co-op housing in 30 years. We also need protections and programs for firsttime home buyers. To that end, Budget 2022 introduces a new Tax-Free First Home Buyers Savings Account and doubles the First-Time Home Buyers Tax Credit, while combatting blind bidding and foreign home purchases and establishing a Home Buyers Bill of Rights. Finally, the budget will provide a onetime, $500 payment to those facing the greatest housing affordability challenges.
With the lowest unemployment rate since 1976 and a national childcare system now established, Canada’s recovery is taking shape. However, we cannot take our economic growth for granted, and Budget 2022 invests strategically to keep our economy strong. Some of the most important economic measures in the budget include doubling the Union Training and Innovation Program to support training for tradespeople and putting more money back in the pockets of families by offering tax relief to skilled workers. To kickstart our clean economy, the budget also establishes a Canada Growth Fund to attract private sector investment that will help us meet our climate goals, spur diversification, and grow our exports, while making zero emission vehicles more affordable and positioning Canada as a leader in the production of clean batteries.
I encourage you to follow my Facebook for more highlights! I am proud to represent our communities. Remember you can always contact my office for congratulatory certificates and other requests.
