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9 |Thursday June 22, 2017 | OAKVILLE BEAVER |www.insidehalton.com Banker urges governm ent tostep intohousingissue by Marta Marychuk O akville Beaver S ta ff CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal urged Halton Regional Council to have a "serious conversation" with developers to find a solution to the affordable housing crisis. Tal spoke to councillors Wednesday (June 14) to provide insight and analysis on the growing housing market trends, according to a memo to council from Mark Scinocca, commissioner, finance and regional treasurer. Tal, who has 20 years of experience advising both public and private sectors, provided regional council with an overview of current business conditions, credit markets and real estate in Canada. Scinocca said council has raised a number of concerns related to affordable housing, requesting staff to investigate the issue and report back. Housing prices in Oakville and other communities in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) have increased significantly in recent years, creating concerns about the stability of the housing market. Tal told council Canada' s economy is starting to move in a positive direction. He said manufacturing is increasing in Ontario -- Canada is a leading nation in gross domestic product (GDP) and 3 0 ,0 0 0 jobs were added to the economy in the past six months. We were spending too much time in the kitchen. O rd e rin g m eals has p u t th e focus back on e n jo y in g o u rT S tire m e n t. ·*> Economy back on track "We are actually back," said Tal. "Even wages are starting to rise." But in 2 0 1 6 , Tal said something happened to the housing market -- with 2 0 ,0 0 0 new immigrants moving to Ontario. "Twenty thousand people is a lot of demand," he added. While a number of factors (land speculation, foreign ownership and flipping homes) have led to a shortage in affordable housing, Tal said the number one reason is a lack of supply - exacerbated by the provincial government' s Places to Grow Act. "Clearly, the Places to Grow Act is a factor and we can't ignore it," said Tal. "We wouldn't grow at all, unless the Places to Grow Act forced us to," said Oakville Mayor Rob Burton. Government needs to help slow down the housing market, said Tal. Normally, the market will take care of itself, v Get delicious, frozen meals, soups and desserts delivered directly to your home. Made for Seniors Request yo u r FREE Menu C atalogue Today! 1 -8 4 4 -4 0 9 -0 0 5 0 HeartToHom eM eals.ca Free Delivery*. No Obligation. Delicious Choices. *so m eco n d itio n sm a ya p p ly . HEART T O ^ H O M EM EA LS DELICIOUS MEALS MADE FOR SENIORS' see Interest on p.16 ABOVE GROUND POOLS* 15' ROUND $2999 I 18' ROUND $3599 12' X 20' OVAL $4399 Vinyl and Fiberglass Available MANY MORE S IZ E S AVAILABLE FLOOR MODEL CLEARANCE HOT TUBS* POOL LINERS* 12' X 24' $999 1 4 'X 2 8 ' $ 1 1 9 9 1 6 'X 3 2 ' $ 1 3 9 9 1 8 'X 3 6 ' $ 1 5 9 9 20' x 40' $ 1 7 9 9 O T H E R S IZ E S AVAILABLE AT S IM IL A R S A VIN G S . FROM $4999 504 IROQUOIS SHORE ROAD, UNIT #1, OAKVILLE, ON L6H 3K4 9 0 5 -8 4 5 -7 9 7 9 · 9 0 5 -8 1 5 -5 2 5 2 · w w w .le isu re in d u strie s.ca LEISUREINDUSTRIES * R e s tric tio n s ap p ly c h e c k in -sto re fo r d etails, n o t ap p lica b le o n p rio r sales. P ro d u cts m a y n o t b e e x a c tly as sh ow n . * * I n s ta lla tio n A vailab le