On behalf of the…

On behalf of the ClimateActionWR collaborative we’d like to express our grave concern for the proposed More Homes Built Faster Act, Bill 23.

ClimateActionWR is a collaboration between organizations, community members, and municipalities within Waterloo Region focused on climate change mitigation. In 2021 all eight of our local municipalities unanimously adopted an ambitious strategy called TransformWR which maps out actions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 80% by the year 2050 and more immediately 30% by 2030. Not only did all 8 municipalities in Waterloo Region endorse the strategy last term, but they all went one step further to set a science-backed interim goal of 50% reduction by 2030. To meet this goal we need strong leadership from the provincial and federal governments through supportive policies and programs.

While we support the overarching goal of this bill to increase the much needed housing supply in the province, we are concerned for the impacts of the bill on our communities’ ability to reach our essential climate targets, and about the types of housing this bill encourages. We are in a crucial window of time to take action to prevent the most catastrophic impacts of climate change, as outlined by the IPCC 6th Assessment Report (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). This is also a time when climate change impacts are being increasingly felt at the local level. Here are our recommendations.

The TransformWR strategy was created based on our community's vision for an equitable, prosperous, resilient and low carbon future. We are concerned that this bill promotes housing growth in low-density developments encroaching on our rural land boundaries, rather than the densification and diversity of housing options in existing built areas. This is crucial for the ability of our local community to meet essential transformational changes that reduce long-term car dependency in well planned communities and protect the agricultural lands that feed our cities. We note that in our community 49% of GHG emissions are from transportation.

In addition to concerns for urban sprawl, the bill will make it more difficult to implement green development standards that are crucial to meeting 2030 climate targets. This is an opportunity for significant investment in progressive housing infrastructure, as such new developments should be net-zero or net-zero ready to better ensure long-term resilience and housing affordability through energy efficiency. Energy efficiency increases the affordability of homes, a crucial element to expansion of our housing supply. Our ability to meet the actions outlined in TransformWR is greatly reduced without the implementation of strong green development standards. Municipalities should have the autonomy to enact local green development standards that align with Regional and City/Township Official Plans and climate action plans.

As representatives of our community and Ontarians, we urge the Premier to make significant improvements to Bill 23, such that it encourages development density and diversification of housing options, rather than continued sprawl. Furthermore we strongly support changes that do not jeopardize the ability to enact local green development standards that help us move towards a low carbon future.