Housing and health care top of mind for MP's constituents

Photo: Contributed

Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola MP Dan Albas

Every year, I conduct a summer listening tour of our riding to hear the thoughts and concerns of my constituents.

This is to make sure my priorities as a Member of Parliament are aligned with those I represent.
This year, I placed special emphasis on door-knocking, as I've found people are often more willing to share personal opinions or ask questions in one-on-one settings. When constituents have the time and interest, their responses prove most informative and helpful to my work.

For the second consecutive year, the top three concerns were health care, housing and the high cost of living. As each issue is substantial enough for its own discussion, I will focus on the first two in today's column and address the third another time.

While most quickly recognize health care is largely an area under provincial jurisdiction, many are pleased to learn about (federal Conservative Leader) Pierre Poilievre's pledge to create a "blue seal" program for health professionals.

The program would be modelled after the highly successful Red Seal program, which allows skilled trades to operate anywhere in Canada once credentialed in their home province. This common-sense approach helps construction workers seamlessly work on projects nationwide while maintaining the high standards Canadians expect.

Currently, tens of thousands of qualified doctors, nurses and other health professionals are effectively prevented from working as they await credential evaluation and application processing. Some are forced to wait several years, resorting to odd jobs or driving taxis. The proposed blue seal program would set a 90-day deadline to either approve applications or indicate any remaining gaps in qualifications. It would also offer micro-loans for required courses to achieve certification in Canada.

This initiative resonates with many who understand the challenges of enduring long wait times or hospital emergency department closures across our riding, largely due to a shortage of health care professionals.
Housing affordability is a concern I've long heard from younger families who are struggling to find safe and affordable homes. Parents and grandparents also express worry that high housing costs are pushing young people away from their loved ones.

Employers report difficulty attracting and retaining qualified staff, even for traditionally stable jobs like nursing, firefighting and policing due to housing costs. Many are forced to move to more affordable communities, which is increasingly challenging in the Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola riding.

How does the leader of the “common sense” Conservatives plan to help? In addition to his commitment to sell off 15% of federal properties for housing and require large municipalities to zone for high density around transit stations, he recently announced what housing experts have called the boldest measure in a generation—eliminating the GST on new housing (single detached, townhouse, condo, or mobile home) under $1 million.
This would immediately save the average family $40,000 on an $800,000 home. In that case, it would lower the average mortgage by $2,200.

How would (a Conservative government) pay for that? We'd start by reallocating money from programs that have proven ineffective in building more homes at lower prices across the country, such as the "housing accelerator" fund.

This is the same fund that the Minister of Housing confirmed at a Parliamentary Committee "doesn't directly build homes."

My question for you this week:

Do you support the Conservative proposal to eliminate the federal sales tax (GST) on new homes sold for under $1 million? Why or why not?

I can be reached at [email protected] or call toll-free 1-800-665-8711.

Dan Albas is the Conservative MP for Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.