Ontario using frequent Minister's Zoning Orders to fast-track development, auditor says
The Ontario government is employing a previously little-used land-planning tool to fast-track development and circumvent normal planning processes, the auditor general said in her annual report.
An audit by Bonnie Lysyk's office released Wednesday said the government issued 44 Minister's Zoning Orders between March 2019 and March 2021, when in the past, about one was issued per year. In 2017 and 2018, there were none.
The report said that 17 of the 44 orders were issued to the same seven development groups or companies.
MZOs were originally intended to be issued in special circumstances, but the government is using them as a tool to overcome potential barriers and delays to development, Lysyk said, and there is no set criteria the minister uses to decide when to use one.
"We still think that, given the frequency that these are happening now, that it's time to sit back and kind of say, what should be put in place so that there's real clarity for everybody that's involved around when an MZO is used," Lysyk said.
"If an MZO is used to build a long-term care home, I think people would go, 'OK, I kind of get it and understand the necessity' as long as it's clear why that decision for that particular developer was made. The other side is if, you know, somebody's building something on a wetland, you'd kind of sit back and go, 'I need more information."'
Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark said it's all about tackling the housing crisis in order to create more supply, and suggested MZOs should be used even more.
"If other ministers from other governments used that tool as much as we have in our time in government, we might not have a housing supply crisis. We might not have a crisis in long-term care beds," he said.
"I think it's a very good tool that allows not-for-profit housing to be built, long-term care, job creation. This is a tool that that our government really believes in."
MZOs override local zoning bylaws if there is a conflict and can't be appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal, the audit noted.
The auditor pointed out that the government also recently embedded increased powers for MZOs as part of COVID-19 economic recovery legislation.
Five of the 44 MZOs were used for pandemic response, the report said, such as permitting restaurant patios and the construction of a facility manufacturing personal protective equipment.
Eighteen of them were issued on lands that were previously zoned for agricultural use or natural heritage protection, affecting an estimated 2,000 acres of farmland, the audit said.
There were 23 MZOs issued in order to increase the supply of long-term care beds.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.