Ontario aims to bolster new home building with push to cut costs, permits

Ontario's housing minister says he will introduce legislation this week to speed up new home construction, a move that comes as the Ford government struggles to meet its goal of building 1.5 million homes.

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack offered some hints Thursday about the legislation, which will be unveiled the same week the province will release the provincial budget. The minister said the bill will speed up the municipal permitting process for housing and lower costs for developers.

Flack is set to make an announcement Monday morning in Vaughan with Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma and Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria.

"We've got headwinds in our economy," Flack told reporters at Queen's Park. "We need bold initiatives, and we have to build faster. We're looking at the cost of housing today. It takes too long and it costs too much to get shovels in the ground."

In 2022, Premier Doug Ford pledged to build 1.5 million new homes by 2031, meaning Ontario would need to see 100,000 homes built a year to hit that target. But as recently as last October, the government's own fall economic statement showed Ontario is not on track to hit that level in 2025, 2026, or 2027.

Flack said work on the new bill began with previous housing minister Paul Calandra and included consultations with developers and municipalities. He stressed that the legislation will not eliminate development charges, fees cities use to pay for sewers, roads and parks. 

"Without infrastructure, water and wastewater, the job will never get done," he said. "So they're an important tool, but they can't be punitive. In some cases, they're too high, and we need to make sure that they're not hurting the cash flow of getting home builders getting shovels in the ground."

Efforts in recent years by the province to eliminate development charges were largely reversed when they proved unpopular with municipalities.

Opposition leaders expressed scepticism about this latest piece of legislation aimed at solving Ontario's housing crisis.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the official opposition will be combing through the bill once its tabled.

"I've been asking every day almost what they're going to do and why they're not prioritizing the building of homes," she said. "They've had eight years now, multiple bills that are called "Building Homes Faster", and yet, no homes are being built in Ontario." 

Stiles said she is concerned about reports from Global News that the bill could extend the controversial MZO (Minister's Zoning Order) powers to Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma. 

"When you look at the mess she has made with Ontario Place, yeah, I have some deep concerns about that," Stiles added.

But Flack defended Surma, stressing that the powers which allow the province to override municipal zoning rules, will still be subject to the same standards applied by his ministry.