With only four weeks in the House of Commons under his belt, Bay of Quinte MP Ryan Williams is looking to 2022 to make his mark.
The Conservative MP says affordable and adequate housing will be a priority for him throughout the next year.
He says the Bay of Quinte has been one of the areas most seriously affected by rising housing costs and lack of supply.
“I’ve been advocating to double housing. And a lot of its intensification. It will be different kinds of homes like townhouses and looking at maybe more condos or apartment buildings but different ways to get homes built and on the ground.”
Williams says with home prices doubling in the Quinte region and increasing 170% in Prince Edward County, it’s become almost impossible for young people to get into the housing market or for people to upgrade.
Getting more primary health providers and providing more supports for mental health and addictions is also high on his list of priorities.
Williams, who is a member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, says with our region needing more than 50 doctors to adequately serve the community, he will work with the province to bring more nurse practitioners to the area.
He and members of the committee also know people are struggling with their mental health as the pandemic drags on.
“I’ll be making sure we fight for more resources and that we have more supports for people, including counselling. Even to the point that we are trying to make sure that there’s a new three digit hotline or phone number for those, for suicide prevention.”
Williams says it’s imperative to work with groups like the Enrichment Centre for Mental Health so get them the proper resources so they can support people who need help.
Williams not only wants to bring more jobs to the region but give people the tools they need to upskill and get better jobs.
Williams says while he has only been the region’s MP for a few months, he’s already been working with the Quinte Economic Development Commission as well as local Chambers of Commerce and labour groups.
“We need to ensure that, if there are people here that want to make more, that we get training programs so that they, in their own accord, can go and train into a better job and make a better pay cheque. And that itself, is going to help fight inflation.”
Williams, who is the Deputy Shadow Minister for Innovation, Science and Industry, says he also wants to ensure skilled workers are available to local companies so they have the employees they need to expand.
