Kitchener welcomes 2022 provincial throne speech and re-introduced budget

Kitchener – Today, Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell, on behalf of the provincial government, delivered the Throne Speech to officially open the 43^rd Legislative session. The Throne Speech and the re-introduced budget, 2022 Budget: Ontario’s Plan to Build, outlined key initiatives for the provincial government, including:

• Focus on economic growth and facing the challenges of high inflation
• Affordable housing and increasing housing supply for a growing population
• The importance of investments in critical infrastructure, including hospitals and healthcare, and roads, highways, and public transit
• The Province working in partnership and collaboration with federal and municipal governments, working in common cause for solutions, and to have unity of people and unity of purpose

“The provincial government, through today’s Throne Speech and the re-introduction of the 2022 Budget, is focusing on economic growth, and working in partnership and collaboration to address the issues most important to residents living in Kitchener and throughout Ontario,” said City of Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. “People and businesses have been hurting since the start of the pandemic, and it will take bold leadership and focused investments to support individuals, our cities and communities and to grow our economy.”

The Throne Speech highlighted the need to build more houses that people can afford, with the goal of building 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years. To help reach that goal, the Province is also looking to expand transit-oriented communities, and partner with municipalities to leverage surplus land for affordable housing. This will be done by working with municipalities to help get more homes to market faster.

“Affordable housing and affordability in general is important for individuals and families, young and old, new Canadians and families who have lived here for generations. So many aspects of our economy and the overall well-being of our society simply grinds to a halt when people can’t afford a place to call home. The City of Kitchener looks forward to working with the Province and our federal and regional partners in building more affordable housing while also working to improve the social well-being of all our residents with key investments in healthcare, mental health and addictions.” said Mayor Vrbanovic.

From hospitals and healthcare, to highways and public transit, investing in infrastructure will be key to unlocking Ontario’s potential. While the healthcare system needs to be built to care for patients and prioritize their health above all else, the pandemic has shown that it is also needed to help keep the province open. Also, building new transportation infrastructure will be crucial for reducing gridlock, getting more goods to market faster, and having families spend more time together.

“We are happy with the Province prioritizing transportation and healthcare infrastructure,” said Mayor Vrbanovic. “Two Way All Day GO Rail service along the Kitchener Line is moving forward, and expanding Highway 7 between Kitchener and Guelph is now in Phase 2 of a three phase process, with Premier Ford committing to build Highway 7 during the recent election campaign. In addition, Kitchener and our area simply needs a new hospital. Our hospitals have served us well for decades, but our population has significantly grown over those same decades, and new hospital infrastructure and additional operating investments are needed to catch up to that growth.”

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For more information please contact:
Paul Grivicic, Chief of Staff
City of Kitchener
226-749-3410
paul.grivicic@kitchener.ca

Bethany Rowland, Director of Corporate Communications & Marketing
City of Kitchener
226-752-9038
bethany.rowland@kitchener.ca