At the 2023 State of the Region event, held at Niagara Falls Convention Centre, Regional Chair Jim Bradley announced to an audience of approximately four hundred people that Niagara Region would be creating an Office of Attainable Housing and an Office of Shared Services, and that the Niagara Week advocacy event would be returning. 

Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce (GNCC) CEO Mishka Balsom issued the following statement on the above announcements: 

“In the GNCC’s municipal election platforms, we had campaigned for the dedication of staff and funds to find new opportunities for shared municipal services. These can offer efficiency in the delivery of services and a cost-saving to the taxpayer. Some municipal governments have made headway on their own, such as in recent announcements of shared library and fire services, but at the GNCC, we really felt that the best way to make progress was to make it the primary responsibility of a department. We are pleased to see this being done. 

“We have also prioritized attainable and affordable housing at the GNCC. The cost of housing is not only a social problem, but an economic one. The rising cost of housing drives up wages and makes it harder for businesses in areas with a high cost of living to attract employees. We hope that this office will be able to make progress on this problem. 

“The GNCC is also pleased to be partnering with Niagara Region on the Niagara Week advocacy project at Queen’s Park. The meetings we hold will help advance the causes that are important to Niagara and ensure that our region and our business community gets the attention it needs.”