| Our Message Minister Gravelle, Ladies and Gentlemen. Before you stands a pretty familiar site around the GTA. The single family wood framed home. But what is special about this home versus all the others around you is that this has been constructed from lumber sourced completely from Ontario. That may not sound like much, but it really is a lot. BECAUSE 70% of Greater Toronto Homebuilders lumber comes from outside the province. That represents about 1/2 a billion dollars that we could buy from Ontario mills, and forestry workers. Minister this is a made in Ontario solution without any government subsidy or legislation. And speaking of Made in Ontario. Have a look at this map. This shows the impact that this lonely wood home has on the Ontario Manufacturing and Forestry sectors. We didn't add in the service sector here. Those being the trades, the architects and other professionals that make Ontario Builders the best in the world. These are the Ontario jobs that we are desperately trying to protect. Ontario Manufacturers and Foresters producing world class products. Every manufacturer - all 35 of them- in this map is tied to this home. In Ontario, we are all in this together. The Thunder Bay mill worker has a stake in the Greater Toronto home and VISE VERSA. So when we say that what's good for Ontario Wood Frame Construction is good for Ontario, we are not being arrogant, we are simply telling the truth. And it is time this message got out. It is particularly fitting that we are in Oshawa today demonstrating the great economic role that wood frame homes play in Ontario. Mayor Gray leads a City where Development Charges are being proposed to go lower. BUT you don't have to look far from here to see municipalities that are building in double digit costs DC increases to homebuyers pushing young families away from the dream of home ownership And worse - killing jobs in an area that could use a few while the General gets rolling again. Skilled trades from General Motors have found a jobs in our industry over the last few years. How pushing home prices up in a world that is desperately looking for ways to revive the sector is beyond comprehension. So don't subsidize us, just do what ever you can to keep our taxes and fees and home prices low. Its hard to imagine a competitive manufacturing sector if the guy in the southern US pays less for a home than the fees in it. We employ 640,000 people between home and Forestry. Lets keep that alive. And on that note, I would like to thank Minister Gravelle and his cabinet for removing the claw back provision on the HST. It would have been a job killer. We spoke and they listened. Good government is what all Canadians want now. As I look west one riding to Whitby, I would urge MP Minister Flaherty to do the same thing with the GST and bring it into harmony with the Ontario tax. If you want jobs, we can deliver. |