The Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) today released Home
Stretched: Tackling Ontario’s Housing Affordability Crisis Through Innovative Solutions and Partnerships, a policy brief that includes a case study of a conceived-in-Muskoka approach to the problem.
The brief outlines opportunities for the private, public, and non-profit sectors to explore innovative partnerships and approaches to address housing affordability and supply, and recommendations to build on successful models.

“Our Chamber thanks RTO12’s Kate Monk who helped inform this policy by representing us (and her RTO12 region) at stakeholder meetings led by the OCC,” says Norah Fountain, Executive Director, Muskoka Lakes Chamber of Commerce. “It’s a good example of how our partners can help our local business voice bebetter heard – and how forward-thinking remedies are being conceived by local partners.”

Monk is Vice-President, Strategy & Corporate Programs for Explorers’ Edge and has been a champion for A Regional Tourism Work-Integrated Housing Ecosystem, what Explorers’ Edge calls their Catalyst Housing project. Seeing approaches like this put into action cannot come soon enough in Fountain’s opinion.

“The housing crisis in Ontario has reached a critical point, with significant challenges related to both affordability and supply,” says Fountain. “Muskoka is not immune to these pressures and it’s very possible that our region has been hit hardest. We’ve been sounding the alarm about a lack of staff housing for decades and about the prospect of a looming housing crisis for all. Now we’re past that point. Attracting and retaining labour has become so hard because of it. At the same time, higher housing costs leave less income available to spend on other goods and services, which directly affects our community’s long-term economic growth.”

The policy brief provides all levels of government and industry with recommendations under the following themes: Labour and Demographics, the Housing Continuum, and Infrastructure and Land Use Planning.

Key policy recommendations include:

• Continue to establish and deliver on inclusive workforce development and immigration strategies to increase the labour pool needed to build more housing.
• Incentivize the development and preservation of affordable housing options along the continuum, including purpose-built rentals, missing middle, student, non-profit, cooperative, and
supportive housing.
• Support the development and expansion of innovative technologies, data tools, retrofitting, building conversions, as well as mixed-use and climate-resilient green housing.

“The growing mismatch between housing supply and demand in communities across Ontario has made it more difficult for employers to fill labour gaps, particularly as the global competition for talent heats up,” says Rocco Rossi, President and CEO, Ontario Chamber of Commerce. “To ensure the long-term resilience of our economy, we encourage governments to balance consultation with bold action, such as ending exclusionary zoning and working in partnership with public and private sector partners to address labour shortages.”

To help inform this brief, the OCC led a series of regional housing affordability roundtables with a diverse range of housing sector stakeholders. The Muskoka Lakes Chamber was proud to contribute to the OCC’s Housing Affordability Initiative with help from Monk of Explorers’ Edge and looks forward to working with all levels of government and industry to meet the housing needs of our communities.

Housing affordability is a pressing issue impacting communities of all sizes across Ontario. High housing costs are limiting the buying power of households, impacting businesses’ ability to attract and retain talent, and exacerbating homelessness rates throughout the province. The Government of Ontario has committed to
building 1.5 million new homes by 2031 to help mitigate this crisis. This goal will require strategic action and significant collaboration across sectors and all levels of government.

The OCC would like to thank its Lead Partner, Desjardins, and Presenting Partners, Cadillac Fairview, and the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario, for their vital collaboration.

The post All Hands On Deck Needed To Address Ontario’s Housing Crisis appeared first on Muskoka411.

According to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s (OCC) Ontario Economic Report (OER), Ontario business confidence has dropped to a record low in 2023. Labour shortages, inflation, health care system vulnerabilities, and fears of a potential economic contraction are dampening confidence in the province’s economic outlook. All is not lost though. The Economic Report also showed Muskoka businesses remained optimistic about their own growth and prospects. Still, conditions need to improve for Muskoka and all of Ontario. To address these issues, the Muskoka Lakes Chamber of Commerce and OCC’s 2023 Provincial Budget Submission provides recommendations to foster an environment that supports long-term, sustainable economic growth.

“We would like to see measures in Ontario’s 2023 budget that support economic growth in our region in a way that helps us fill jobs, cut red tape, and bolster prosperity for all our businesses,” said Randy Heyd, Muskoka Lakes Chamber Chair.  “Our Chamber met recently with provincial ministries to suggest solutions, and we encourage the province to keep listening to Muskoka-specific concerns and to implement budget initiatives to support growth in Muskoka Lakes.”

OCC’s 2023 Provincial Budget Submission provides recommendations to the Government of Ontario under the following categories: Sustainable Growth, Complete Communities, and Modernization. Some key proposals include:

• Fostering an inclusive workforce and addressing labour market challenges by supporting innovative training and education models, boosting immigration, making regional immigration pilots permanent, continuing to remove barriers to labour mobility and foreign credential recognition, and adopting supplier diversity programs to create opportunities for entrepreneurs and businesses that support diversity and inclusion.
• Strengthening health system capacity and resilience by continuing to tackle the health human resources crisis, combating growing rates of mental health and addictions challenges, supporting the aging population, and continuing to address the backlog of surgeries and routine immunizations, as well as deferred cancer treatments, diagnostics, and procedures.
• Investing in growth-enabling infrastructure by continuing to accelerate broadband rollout across the province, building affordable housing and complete communities, expanding regional transportation connectivity, and investing energy distribution infrastructure to support long-term growth and resiliency.
• Modernizing government services and regulations by building an integrated health data system, bolstering interprovincial trade, improving supply chain infrastructure and public sector procurement processes, and lowering administrative burdens on business.

“A sustainable and predictable path forward will help restore business confidence, attract investments, and make Ontario more competitive on the global stage,” said Rocco Rossi, President and CEO, OCC. “With higher interest rates, governments should maintain fiscal prudence. However, as the province has locked in low long-term rates, the cost of servicing the province’s public debt should not grow significantly as a portion of the budget. Eliminating the debt need not take priority over growth-enabling investments.”

The recommendations outlined in the OCC’s budget submission were developed with businesses, associations, post-secondary institutions, and chambers of commerce and boards of trade from across the province.

Read the 2023 Provincial Budget Submission HERE.

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“Ontario began to see some positive momentum in 2021 thanks to progress on vaccines and reopening. Business confidence, GDP, and employment growth are trending upwards after record lows in 2020. However, the road ahead remains uncertain for businesses and households as labour shortages, supply chain disruptions, and inflation are hitting home,” said Rocco Rossi, President and CEO, Ontario Chamber of Commerce. “A staggering 62 per cent of sectors are facing labour shortages in Ontario and expect to continue facing them over the next year. This is having real-life consequences on the cost of living, service delivery, and product availability.”

Not surprisingly, of the 158 respondents to the survey in the Muskoka-Kawarthas region, 54 per cent agreed the labour shortage problem was a number one barrier for their business. When it came to confidence in business outlook for their own organizations, of results reported from 11 regions, Muskoka-Kawarthas took the middle ground, with 55 per cent reporting confidence in their own organizational outlook. For the entire region, the confidence rating for Muskoka-Kawarthas of those surveyed was slightly lower than others at 26 per cent.

“While some have struggled and some have even closed, sadly, small businesses across Muskoka have generally proven their strength and resilience over the past two years. Business confidence is rising across the province, and we have confidence here, too, but for many the strain from new variants and additional protection measures is dampening their recovery,” said Norah Fountain, Executive Director of the Muskoka Lakes Chamber of Commerce.

This year’s OER reveals the impacts of the pandemic continue to disproportionately impact small businesses, and organizations led by women and people with disabilities. The hardest-hit sectors are in the arts, entertainment, food services, and agricultural sectors.

Pain points throughout Ontario’s economy are impairing business operations, and now consumers are feeling the pinch, too. The frustration is palpable. From the grocery to entertainment venues to their pocketbooks, Ontarians are experiencing the very real consequences of labour shortages, global supply chain disruptions, and inflation. Today, the Muskoka Lakes Chamber of Commerce and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) released the sixth annual Ontario Economic Report (OER) providing regional and sector-specific data on business confidence, policy priorities, and economic indicators, which together provide a unique view on the hurdles ahead.

“Ontario began to see some positive momentum in 2021 thanks to progress on vaccines and reopening. Business confidence, GDP, and employment growth are trending upwards after record lows in 2020. However, the road ahead remains uncertain for businesses and households as labour shortages, supply chain disruptions, and inflation are hitting home,” said Rocco Rossi, President and CEO, Ontario Chamber of Commerce. “A staggering 62 per cent of sectors are facing labour shortages in Ontario and expect to continue facing them over the next year. This is having real-life consequences on the cost of living, service delivery, and product availability.”

Not surprisingly, of the 158 respondents to the survey in the Muskoka-Kawarthas region, 54 per cent agreed the labour shortage problem was a number one barrier for their business. When it came to confidence in business outlook for their own organizations, of results reported from 11 regions, Muskoka-Kawarthas took the middle ground, with 55 per cent reporting confidence in their own organizational outlook. For the entire region, the confidence rating for Muskoka-Kawarthas of those surveyed was slightly lower than others at 26 per cent.

“While some have struggled and some have even closed, sadly, small businesses across Muskoka have generally proven their strength and resilience over the past two years. Business confidence is rising across the province, and we have confidence here, too, but for many the strain from new variants and additional protection measures is dampening their recovery,” said Norah Fountain, Executive Director of the Muskoka Lakes Chamber of Commerce.

This year’s OER reveals the impacts of the pandemic continue to disproportionately impact small businesses, and organizations led by women and people with disabilities. The hardest-hit sectors are in the arts, entertainment, food services, and agricultural sectors.

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