By Allison Jones
Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack stated the goal has not been forgotten, however conceded there are challenges.
“We’ve received some fairly robust headwinds,” he stated at a press convention to announce his invoice.
“It’s a aim. However frankly, I’m centered extra on — and our crew is targeted on — the subsequent 12 to 24 months, as a result of if it stays the way in which it’s now, we’ll by no means get there. We now have to make rapid adjustments.”
Information revealed not too long ago by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Company confirmed that housing begins in Ontario in March have been down 46%, yr over yr, for communities with 10,000 or extra folks.
Flack’s invoice would cut back the scope and variety of research municipalities can require for brand spanking new developments, velocity up sure minor variances and standardize and streamline charges builders pay that municipalities use to fund housing-enabling infrastructure corresponding to water and sewer strains.
As properly, it might permit municipalities to extra simply scale back growth expenses, permit residential builders to pay these charges on the time of occupancy as an alternative of when a allow is issued, and exempt long-term care properties from the charges in an effort to spur their growth.
Scott Andison, CEO of the Ontario Residence Builders’ Affiliation, stated that when the province’s municipalities all have probably completely different software and growth cost necessities, it slows down the house constructing course of.
“Within the absence of a standard software course of, builders should retool their software course of in response to probably 444 completely different software necessities and navigate considerably completely different pathways to get to a single aim — approval to construct or renovate a house wanted by Ontario households,” he stated.
The invoice would additionally lengthen the facility for granting Minister’s Zoning Orders, which override municipal bylaws, past the municipal affairs and housing minister to incorporate the minister of infrastructure in terms of transit-oriented communities.
It’s a instrument the province’s auditor basic has raised issues with prior to now, noting that the province’s course of for MZOs may give the looks of preferential remedy for some requests. The Progressive Conservative authorities used MZOs 114 instances from 2019 to 2023, which is a 17-fold enhance in utilization from the earlier 20 years, the auditor discovered.
Liberal Chief Bonnie Crombie stated using MZOs needs to be curtailed, not expanded.
“You don’t want one other minister’s fingers within the Ministerial Zoning Orders,” she stated.
“We’ve seen this authorities’s observe document, and we’ve seen the abuse that there might be, and that is simply one more alternative by broadening the facility and growing the variety of ministers who can now challenge MZOs. It is a actually big concern.”
Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma stated the transfer will assist get extra housing constructed.
“We’re simply making an attempt to be extra environment friendly, however we’ll additionally proceed working with the exhausting working (Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing) workers,” she stated.
“We wish to be versatile. We wish to be nimble. I’ve MZOs that I’d wish to challenge this yr.”
The invoice would additionally cap the variety of reasonably priced items a municipality can require in sure residential developments at 5 per cent in an effort to make tasks extra viable, however Crombie stated it might result in a discount within the availability of reasonably priced housing.
As properly, the invoice would standardize building necessities and supply readability that municipalities can’t create building requirements past the constructing code. Builders and builders have expressed frustration at municipalities that create further necessities, corresponding to Toronto’s inexperienced constructing normal.
“At a time when there are such a lot of challenges going through the residential building trade, these adjustments are essential and important as they may simplify the approvals course of and make the homebuilding course of extra environment friendly,” Richard Lyall, president of the Residential Development Council of Ontario, stated of the invoice as a complete.
The federal government additionally introduced Monday that it’ll add $400 million to 2 funds municipalities use to construct housing-enabling infrastructure.
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Final modified: Might 12, 2025
