The Ontario government introduced a new housing bill today. Here's what it means
Ontario's housing minister has introduced legislation to streamline approval processes in a bid to boost the province's housing supply.
It comes after a housing affordability task force convened by the government released a report last month offering 55 recommendations, including a goal of building 1.5 million homes in 10 years.
Government officials say the task force report gives them a long-term roadmap, but many of the recommendations are not addressed in today's legislation, including changing municipal zoning rules to allow more housing to be built aside from single-family homes.
The government is now launching new consultations on increasing "missing middle" housing including supports for multigenerational housing, access to financing for not-for-profit developers and the housing needs of rural and northern communities.
The bill contains measures to streamline subdivision approval processes, site plan approval processes, which deal with elements such as walkways and parking, and approvals for modular multi-unit residential buildings.
Municipalities would also have to refund zoning by-law amendment fees after Jan. 1, 2023 if they don't make a decision within legislated timelines.
The province is also putting $19 million over three years toward reducing backlogs at the Ontario Land Tribunal and Landlord and Tenant Board.
Ontario announced Tuesday it is increasing a tax on non-resident homebuyers from 15 to 20 per cent and is broadening it to the entire province instead of just the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Those changes took effect Wednesday.
House prices in Ontario have nearly tripled in the last 10 years, far outpacing income growth, the task force report said, but the province is 1.2 million homes -- both rental and owned -- short of the G7 average.
Businesses and public services are having trouble recruiting and retaining workers because of a scarcity of nearby housing, which is harming the economy, while long commutes are contributing to air pollution, the report said.
Many of the task force report's recommendations suggested ways to limit how development can be stifled by local opposition to neighbourhood growth and change.
Those recommendations included eliminating municipal policies that prioritize preserving "neighbourhood character," exempting projects of 10 units or fewer from public consultation when they only need minor variances, limiting municipalities from hosting consultations beyond what is required in the Planning Act, and banning heritage designations that are made only after a development application is filed.
Municipal zoning rules also need to be changed to allow more homes to be built, the report said. It's estimated that 70 per cent of the residential land in Toronto is restricted to single-detached or semi-detached homes.
The province allowed secondary suites starting in 2019, but municipalities are still restricting their use -- the total number of secondary suites has actually declined for the past three years, the report said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
W5 Investigates Car security investigation: How W5 'stole' a car using a device we ordered online
In part two of a three-part series into how thieves are able to drive off with modern vehicles so easily, CTV W5 correspondent Jon Woodward uses a device flagged by police to easily clone a car key.
Satire slinger The Onion buys Alex Jones' Infowars at auction with help from Sandy Hook families
The satirical news publication The Onion won the bidding for Alex Jones' Infowars at a bankruptcy auction, backed by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims whom Jones owes more than $1 billion in defamation judgments for calling the massacre a hoax, the families announced Thursday.
South African government says it won't help 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine
South Africa's government says it will not help an estimated 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country's North West province who have been denied access to basic supplies as part of an official strategy against illegal mining.
Some Scotiabank users facing 'intermittent' access to banking days after scheduled maintenance
Scotiabank users say they are having issues using their bank’s services following a scheduled maintenance period that ended days ago.
B.C. Realtors fined $200K for failure to disclose relevant information to clients
Two B.C. real estate agents have been fined a combined total of more than $200,000 for professional misconduct they committed during the sale of a waterfront property on the Sunshine Coast in 2017.
Trump's defence secretary pick said women shouldn't be in combat roles. These female veterans fear what comes next
Female veterans fear the progress made for women in combat since then will be reversed after U.S. president-elect Donald Trump announced Pete Hegseth this week as his pick for secretary of defense – a Fox News host and Army veteran who has criticized efforts to allow women into combat roles.
A look at how much mail Canada Post delivers, amid a strike notice
Amid a potential postal worker strike, here’s a look at how many letters and parcels the corporation delivers and how those numbers have changed in the internet age.
opinion Why the new U.S. administration won't have much time for us
In a column for CTVNews.ca, former Conservative Party political advisor and strategist Rudy Husny says that when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau goes to the G-20 summit next week, it will look more like his goodbye tour.
B.C. midwives' college issues warnings about 4 unregistered women
The B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives has issued nearly identical warnings about four women, each of whom it says 'may be offering midwifery services' without being permitted to do so.