Hello Premier Ford. This…

Hello Premier Ford.

This summer, I expect to once again smell the fumes of fires burning in north
Ontario, and to experience extreme storms and flooding.

Toronto, along with many other Ontario cities, has spent the last decade spending
tens of millions of dollars on retrofitting buildings to help offset the effects of climate
change.

There have been municipal loans and rebates available to homeowners and
businesses who undertake their own retrofits. Our own residents’ association has
started up a local retrofit initiative to try to move people off fossil fuels. During the
last 16 years, over 4000 new Toronto buildings have adhered to Toronto’s Green
Standards requirements, which include permeable coverings to reduce the
likelihood of flooding during our ever more extreme stormy weather, in addition to
other green features.

While numerous cities across Ontario have implemented standards which promote
green roofs, urban forest protections, stormwater management, renewable energy
systems and green spaces, Ontario has not updated its own building code since
2017 and does not include any reference to green standards.

Bill 98 will take more of the onus off developers to consider the climate impact of
their projects, with the result that taxpayers will bear the brunt of the costs, while the
developers reap the profits of their investments.

This doesn’t apply to Toronto only, but includes municipalities across the province,
such as Whitby, Ajax and Pickering. Durham Region as a whole has developed a
green set of initiates for new builds aiming for net-zero emissions by 2030.
Cities don’t have an easy time designing standards which will not act as a deterrent
to developers. In general, these standards are softened with financial incentives,
such as tax rebates. The overall result has been a set of standards which are not
particularly onerous and an already considerable amount of taxpayer money being
returned to developers in the form of rebates. In Toronto, for example, almost $120
million has been refunded.

Bill 98 shifts the cost of net-zero emission planning onto taxpayers in another way.
It is significantly more expensive to retrofit an existing building than it is to build
green from the outset. If green standards are not incorporated into the original
building, the taxpayer is left footing a bill than can cost up to $200,000/unit,
according to a 2023 study by United Way Greater Toronto.

We now live with the reality of an impending climate disaster. Flood insurance
premiums in Ontario have increased by 26% in the last two years. It should be
common sense that new buildings use permeable surfaces, and clean technology.
British Columbia has just released its Energy Step Code, which sets province wide
energy efficiency requirements for new buildings, precisely while Ontario eliminates
them.

Premier Ford, you have been lauded for standing up to President Trump. Please use
that same courage to prevent climate catastrophe by making some essential and
common sense requirements of developers.

Thank you.