It’s my pleasure to rise today to highlight Ontario’s efforts to address the current housing crisis.

In August of last year, our government announced a new, three-year, $1.2-billion program that provides significant funding for municipalities that are on track to meet provincial housing targets by 2031. In order to achieve Ontario’s goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2031, municipalities have agreed to housing targets to assist in meeting the goal. The Building Faster Fund encourages municipalities to meet these housing targets. Municipalities that reach at least 80% of their annual target receive a share of the $1.2-billion program, and for those that exceed their targets, even more funding is granted.

My community of Hamilton will receive over $17.5 million for exceeding its 2023 target and for breaking ground on a total of 4,142 new housing units last year.

I am pleased to recognize the hard work of the city of Hamilton and other communities across the province that have made housing a priority.

Ensuring that every resident has an affordable place to call home is our government’s top priority, and I am hopeful that with the support of these provincial funds, there will be even more housing starts in the year ahead.

It’s my pleasure to rise today to highlight an exciting initiative announced yesterday at Brenn-B Farms in my riding of Flamborough–Glanbrook.

Speaker, I’m sure you’ll be delighted to learn that our government, through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, is investing up to $25 million to expand production capacity and boost energy efficiency in the agriculture and food sector. The money will be provided to eligible farm and food processing businesses to help them invest in innovative technology, equipment and processes.

Shawn Brenn, president of Brenn-B Farms, said, “Today’s announcement ... is welcome news for the agriculture sector. Growers are continually looking to innovate in order to manage constantly rising input costs, address labour shortages and market instability in an effort to keep their farms sustainable for the long term.

“Cost-share supports like” this “will help jump-start these investment decisions and support the viability of locally grown fruits and vegetables. I applaud our government’s forward thinking and encourage ongoing collaboration that aligns with keeping our farms and agri-food sector resilient and strong now and into the future.”

I would like to thank Shawn and all of Brenn-B Farms for hosting the event and for sharing his thoughts on this exciting opportunity for the agriculture community across Ontario.