Submitted by Yasir Naqvi, MP for Ottawa Centre
Last month, I joined my Ottawa Caucus colleagues, Mayor Sutcliffe and members of Ottawa’s city council, to announce an investment of 176.3 million dollars under the Housing Accelerator Fund. This funding will allow for the construction of over 4400 new affordable homes to be built across our city.
The Housing Accelerator Fund will provide funding to local governments to incentivize local initiatives that remove barriers to housing supply, accelerate the growth of supply, and support the development of complete, low-carbon and climate-resilient communities, which are affordable, inclusive, equitable, and diverse.
By building more affordable homes quickly, our government is unlocking new opportunities for growth in Ottawa. Working together, we are creating more density around transit hubs, driving down the cost of new builds, and fighting NIMBYism that exists throughout municipal zoning policies.
This investment builds on the work we have done to increase affordable and social housing in our community. Through programs like Reaching Home, Rapid Housing Strategy, Apartment Construction Loan Strategy, Federal Lands Initiative and more, we are making significant progress on combatting chronic homelessness and ensuring more Canadians have a place to call home.
Shorter wait times, better health care
Canadians deserve a health care system that gets them access to health services when and where they need them. That’s why we’re investing nearly $200 billion over the next decade to improve health care delivery across the country.
We are providing close to $200 billion over 10 years for provinces and territories to deliver better health care across the country. Within this funding, $25 billion is for agreements with provinces and territories to respond to the unique needs of their populations and geography.
On February 9, 2024, we announced an agreement with the Government of Ontario of more than $3.1 billion in federal funding for health care over the next three years, marking a crucial step in a 10-year plan for collaboration.
What this agreement will offer
• Better access to family health services
• More doctors, nurse practitioners and nurses
• More access to mental health and substance use services for Ontarians, especially youth and in rural areas
• Better access to electronic health records and improved health data systems
As part of this deal, there are reporting and accountability measures so the province of Ontario shows Ontarians how improvements will happen in their health care system. By working together with the province of Ontario, this deal will support our health care workers and deliver better health care for Ontarians all across the province.
In addition to improving health care delivery, we are also expanding our support within the Canadian Dental Care Plan to seniors aged 72 and up.
Canadians deserve access to quality, affordable dental care. That’s why we announced the Canadian Dental Care Plan – helping families across the country get the care they need. So far, more than 400,000 Canadian seniors have been approved for dental care under the Canadian Dental Care Plan! The plan will cover a wide range of health services including cleaning, x-rays, and preventative care – so that seniors don’t have to choose between paying their bills and getting quality care.
Dental health is health. With this plan, we’re investing in a healthier, better future for Canadians.
If you have any questions about these programs, or would like additional information, please contact my community office, located in Hintonburg. My hard working team and I are here to help!