GTA region warns Bill 23 may hike property taxes
Durham is the latest region to warn residents that property taxes may go up because of Ontario’s housing Bill 23.
“We estimate the Region will have about $281 million less in revenue over five years,” said Durham Regional Council Chair and CEO John Henry.
“This means that existing property taxpayers and ratepayers of Durham Region—as with most other municipalities in Ontario—will now be asked to fund future infrastructure to support new homes in our community,” he added in a statement.
“Or, as an alternative, the Region may have to reduce service levels.”
The More Homes Built Faster Act aims to build 1.5 million homes in Ontario over the next 10 years. Freezing development charges and government fees on some new builds are among the provisions included.
Mayors from big cities like Toronto to rural towns have opposed the freeze, saying municipalities rely on the revenue to build the needed infrastructure to accommodate growth.
Henry says there has been an immediate impact in Durham: money collected from development charges is dropped by 20 per cent already, he says.
This means the region, and the municipalities that make up Durham, will have tough choices on their hands, and property taxes may need to rise to make up the shortfall.
Another thorny issue with the bill is the development on Greenbelt land, including 4,500 acres from three areas around Durham.
“More land is not needed, in Durham Region, to meet the provincial housing target,” Henry said. “There is an eight to 10-year supply of housing already planned in our region.”
Opponents have been vocal since the bill was first unveiled in the fall.
Helen Brenner with Stop Sprawl Durham says developing areas of the Greenbelt—which is made up in part of farmland, forests, and conservation areas—is both fiscally and environmentally unethical, as well as unnecessarily adding to the suburban sprawl.
“We know that it’s not sustainable,” she told CTV News Toronto. “It’s not required—better to live within our existing urban boundaries.”
The Ontario government maintains the course the province is on is the right one.
“Ontario is in a housing supply crisis, and Ontarians expect us to act,” Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark said on Monday.
The Premier says Bill 23 will address the housing shortage, and decisions had to be made.
"You can't keep saying 'not in my backyard, my neighbourhood doesn't want it, we don't want it,’” he said inside the Sheraton Hotel earlier this week, as protesters demonstrated outside.
“Where are we going to put these people?”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Drone footage shows Ukrainian village battered to ruins as residents flee Russian advance
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.