What does the federal budget mean for Waterloo region?

So I think the devil will be in the detail, but I have to tell you that there are big numbers, but they're investing in things like the cost of living. So people, when my colleagues are knocking on doors, because I didn't knock on doors in this recent election, they were talking about the price of groceries, the price of gas, the uncertainty that surrounds so many of the jobs that people have. So they're investing in those kinds of things that I think will help alleviate some of that uncertainty. The numbers are big though and they look at housing, they look at investing in infrastructure, and those are things that are a focus for us because whether or not Our trajectory for growth in the region continues at the pace it has been recently. We know we're still growing. A colleague of mine was saying yesterday that if you're not growing, you're dying. So we want the growth, we want to be vibrant, but people want houses that have buses that run down the street, they have a toilet they can flush, they can drink the water. So investing in that kind of infrastructure is very much the focus of what we provide at the Region of Waterloo, along with public health and a lot of other services. They've also invested in different junctures along the continuum of the homeless. problem and that's really important because we recognize that people need shelter but they need to transition from shelter to safe affordable housing. So all of those things are investments that the federal government has identified in this budget. The other thing that is really a focus for me and many of my colleagues is the fact that we can build affordable units but if we don't have the wraparound services that come through the health ministry There's not those services and supports that people need if they're dealing with mental health or addictions. For some people, homelessness is purely an economic problem, so we need to be able to address a multi-phased approach to ending homelessness.