Windsor-Essex MPs are holding the Liberal government's feet to the fire on affordable housing.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised a 10-year action plan to make housing more affordable, but Windsor-Tecumseh MP Cheryl Hardcastle said, "after decades of cuts, and three years of Liberal government inaction, people are struggling to make ends meet and spending more and more of their income meeting basic shelter needs."
Her party believes the country is facing a housing crisis as housing prices continue to rise, not just in Windsor-Essex but across Canada.
The Windsor Essex County Association of Realtors reported earlier this month the average price to buy a home in Windsor-Essex was $298,975 in December, an increase of 13.3 per cent from the same month in 2017.
The Liberals announced $40 billion over 10 years to build over 100,000 new homes, provide funding to fix up affordable housing units, and legislation declaring affordable housing a human right.
"Safe, affordable housing should be a right. But for too many it's increasingly out of reach thanks to skyrocketing rents and ballooning housing prices that have reached Essex County," said Essex MP Tracey Ramsey.
"The Liberal government has neglected the housing crisis in Canada for too long," added Windsor West MP Brian Masse.
The New Democrats want the government to take action in its next budget. They are calling on the Trudeau government to invest in half-a-million units within a decade, provide a rental subsidy for low-income families, a doubling of the Home Buyer's tax credit for first-time home buyers.
