Newsletter - apr. 17, 2024

Ensuring fair access to housing is crucial for every generation, especially for young Canadians.. Budget 2024: Fairness for Every Generation is dedicated to enhancing affordability across various aspects of life, from safeguarding renters' rights to expanding housing options and creating more affordable childcare spaces. 

In today's economic landscape, many Canadians, particularly Gen Z and Millennials, face financial hurdles, with housing affordability topping the list. Budget 2024 responds to this challenge by prioritizing the resolution of the housing crisis. Our comprehensive plan aims to cap housing expenses at 30% of income, ensuring safe and affordable housing for all Canadians. To expedite home construction and affordability, we're injecting $15 billion in additional loans into the Apartment Construction Loan Program (ACLP), fostering sustainable rental apartment projects nationwide.

Our commitment to bolstering homeownership includes supporting first-time buyers and existing homeowners. Effective August 1, 2024, first-time buyers of newly constructed homes can benefit from a 30-year mortgage amortization, making monthly payments more affordable for young Canadians who want to own their first home. Additionally, the Home Buyers Plan limit will increase from $35,000 to $60,000, easing access to RRSP funds for home purchases. Notably, 750,000 Canadians have already opened Tax-Free First Home Savings Accounts,  putting homeownership back within reach and helping them reach their savings goals sooner.

Budget 2024 introduces initiatives like the $1.5 billion Canada Rental Protection Fund, aimed at protecting affordable housing and fostering new affordable apartment developments. This fund offers $1 billion in loans and $470 million in contributions to to non-profits and other partners to maintain reasonable rent prices long-term. Furthermore, a $15 million Tenant Protection Fund will support legal aid and advocacy groups, ensuring tenants are shielded from unjust practices by landlords.

As part of our commitment to innovation, Budget 2024 allocates $50 million to a new homebuilding technology and innovation fund, promoting the adoption of innovative housing solutions, including modular and prefabricated homes. Additionally, we are providing a $400 million top-up to the $4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund, which is already fast-tracking the construction of over 750,000 new homes over the next decade thanks to 179 agreements with municipalities, provinces, and territories. 

This years budget focuses on making communities like Oakville more safe. Our government is introducing significant changes to enhance law enforcement's capabilities in combating auto theft. These changes encompass amendments to the Criminal Code, introducing new criminal offenses related to auto theft, particularly those involving violence or ties to organized crime. Furthermore, Budget 2024 outlines plans to amend the Radiocommunication Act, aiming to regulate the sale, possession, distribution, and import of devices used in car theft. Addressing gun and gang violence to enhance community safety is one of our top priorities. This is being achieved through the Building Safer Communities Fund, which has provided $250 million to date, and an additional $390 million over the next five years to municipalities and indigenous communities. This initiative empowers law enforcement to remove such devices from the Canadian market, reinforcing our efforts to combat auto theft effectively. 

Budget 2024 strives for safe and affordable communities for Canadians. Our government is cracking down on auto theft with a robust plan to make it harder to steal and export vehicles, moving forward with additional penalties under the Criminal Code for those who commit an auto-theft related offence, and ancillary investments of $15 million to law enforcement agencies to address auto theft and strengthen policing against international organized crime. We are taking immediate and comprehensive actions to ensure that Oakville and the Halton region continues to be one of the safest regions in Canada.

Through collaborative efforts with all levels of government, the private sector and non-profits, we are achieving lasting housing and auto theft solutions for Oakville and Canada as a whole. Through Budget 2024, our government is taking bold action to build more homes, faster, improve access to housing, combat gun and gang violence, and tackle auto theft and organized crime.

What Budget 2024 Includes:
To reduce the cost of living & keep money in the pockets of Canadian families, Budget 2024 is funding a national school food program, making more cell phone plans more affordable, and cracking down on junk fees. 

Learn more here: Fairness for every generation | Prime Minister of Canada (pm.gc.ca)

Puthandu Celebrations:
This week, Tamils in Canada and around the world celebrated Puthandu, Tamil New Year. Puthandu is a special day celebrating renewed hope and the new year. I have many fond memories of celebrating with my family and wish everyone a happy Puthandu. Iniya Puthandu Nalvazhthukkal!

Budget 2024 helping first-time home buyers:
Young Canadians deserve a fair shot at owning a home. This is why Budget 2024 is helping first-time home buyers by implementing new measures to make down payments more attainable and mortgage payments more affordable.

Learn more at: https://canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2024/04/putting-home-ownership-back-within-reach-and-supporting-canadian-homeowners.html

Celebrating Eid-al-Fitr:
This week, Muslims around the world celebrated Eid-al-Fitr as the holy month of Ramadan came to an end. This year, Eid comes at a particularly challenging time and we reaffirm our call for a sustainable ceasefire & unhindered access to humanitarian aid in Gaza. Eid Mubarak to all. 

Budget 2024 on Mental Health Services:
It takes bravery to ask for help, and young Canadians deserve their bravery to be met with accessible mental health care. Our $500 million Youth Mental Health Fund in Budget 2024 will help make sure youth can access the resources they need, when they need it.

107th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge:
The Battle of Vimy Ridge brought one of the first victories in WW1 and displayed the remarkable cooperation, resilience and courage of Canadian troops on the world stage. Today, we commemorate those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for peace and democracy.

Vaisakhi on The Hill:
As we count down the days to Vaisakhi, we celebrate Sikh Heritage Month and the immense contributions of Sikh Canadians - one of the world’s largest Sikh communities outside of India. Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.

Solar Eclipse Sighting:
It’s not every day you get to see a solar eclipse! What a special day. This week my team and I joined Canadians to observe this extraordinary moment!

Budget 2024 on AI technology:
Investing in Canada’s world-leading AI technology is not only smart economic policy, but will lift up innovators for generations to come. Budget 2024  proposes $ 2.4 billion to accelerate job growth in AI,  secure our AI advantage, support Canadian workers and more.

Budget 2024 on The National School Food Program:
Last week, I was pleased to join Dr Sonia Anand & Pandit Roopnauth to discuss healthy diets as well as heart disease risk factors in the South Asian community. Our government is committed to promoting healthier lifestyles through initiatives like Budget 2024's National School Food Program.

Budget 2024 on Affordable Housing:
The most economical way to increase affordable housing supply, is to keep what we already have. Our new $1.5 billion Canada Rental Protection Fund will protect affordable housing across the country.