Five of the GTA's largest homebuilders endorse Tories
OTTAWA — Five of the Toronto area's largest homebuilders are throwing their support behind the Conservatives.
In a joint statement issued Sunday, ARISTA, DECO, Fieldgate, OPUS Homes and Paradise Developments said they're backing Pierre Poilievre's Tories in Monday's election, saying his homebuilding plan makes the most sense.
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'As homebuilders, we see the impact of burdensome regulations, rising costs, and housing shortages are having on Canadian families who are locked out of the housing market,' said ARISTA Homes CEO Michael De Gasperis on behalf of the group.
'We believe Pierre Poilievre is the only national leader proposing real, practical solutions that align with what the housing industry needs: Reducing red tape, faster approvals, and investment in the trades that build our communities.'
Homes and affordability was a key plank in the platforms of both major parties in this election, with the Tories promising to build 2.3 million homes through policies which include cutting GST on new homes under $1.3 million, offering incentives to municipalities to accelerate housing projects, cutting development charges, and requiring cities to permit high-density housing.
bpassifiume@postmedia.com X: @bryanpassifiume
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A 3D render of a closeup of the biblical Ten Commandments etched in a stone tablet, highlighting the ninth commandment. () Seven Arkansas families with children in public schools filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to block the implementation of a new state law requiring the Ten Commandments be displayed in classrooms. Northwest Arkansas parents and their minor children who identify as Jewish, Unitarian Universalist, Humanist, agnostic, atheist and nonreligious filed the complaint Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas against the Fayetteville, Springdale, Bentonville and Siloam Springs school districts. The plaintiffs are asking a judge to declare the law unconstitutional and are seeking preliminary and permanent injunctions to prevent the school districts from complying with the law, according to the complaint. 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'As a result of the Ten Commandments displays mandated by Act 573, Arkansas students—including the minor-child Plaintiffs—will be unconstitutionally coerced into religious observance, veneration, and adoption of the state's favored religious scripture, and they will be pressured to suppress their personal religious beliefs and practices, especially in school, to avoid the potential disfavor, reproach, and/or disapproval of school officials and/or their peers,' the complaint states. By mandating a Protestant version of the Ten Commandments be displayed, 'Act 573 adopts an official position on religious matters, violating the Establishment Clause's prohibition against taking sides in questions over theological doctrine,' according to the complaint. In a statement, Americans United for Separation of Church and State President and CEO Rachel Laser said the Constitution's guarantee of the separation of church and state means families, not politicians, decide if and how public school children engage with religion. Federal judge considers letting Arkansas Supreme Court rule first on 10 Commandments monument case 'This law is part of the nationwide Christian Nationalist scheme to win favor for one set of religious views over all others and nonreligion — in a country that promises religious freedom. Not on our watch,' Laser said. Sen. Jim Dotson, R-Bentonville, and Rep. Alyssa Brown, R-Heber Springs, sponsored Act 573, but the merits of the legislation were largely presented in committee hearings by WallBuilders, a group 'emphasizing the moral, Christian, and constitutional foundation on which our nation was built,' according to its website. 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Plaintiffs in the Arkansas case plan to file a motion for preliminary injunction, which will ask the court to issue an order temporarily preventing implementation of the law, set to take effect Aug. 5, while the lawsuit is pending, according to the release. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
