Bill 23 proposes weakening…

Bill 23 proposes weakening or eliminating many of the housing development regulations, such as site plan controls, that protect us and our natural environment from the negative effects of poorly built development. If implemented as tabled, the bill will severely disrupt the province’s environmental housing regulations.

The housing sector is one of the largest contributors to Ontario’s greenhouse gas emissions. It contributes 23 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions of the province, second only to transportation.

Poorly regulated housing can lead to more greenhouse gas emissions through energy loss, increased energy requirements and greater exposure to weather extremes. This would contribute to accelerating climate change, thus exposing many Ontario residents to the accompanying risks to human health, well-being and property.

Unfortunately, Bill 23, as currently conceived, will exacerbate the already existing risks from climate change (urban heat island effect, flooding...etc.). It removes all municipal controls over exterior design of residential developments. First, this may lead to poorly regulated housing whose compromised visual quality and appeal would inevitably detract from, instead of increase, property value. Over time, this would put the financial investment of owners in their property at risk. Second, removing all sustainable site plan controls may encourage the increase of impervious surfaces that significantly amplify the risk of urban floods from rainwater runoff.

This is exacerbated by Bill 23’s reduction of parkland dedication requirements by half, which is likely to cause a loss of the green spaces and bodies of water that we need to cope with climate-related risks like heat and flooding. Worse still, by curbing the authority of conservation authorities, Bill 23 may endanger people’s lives and property when their houses are built in areas exposed to risks from flooding and pollution. Bill 23’s environmental peril is compounded with the proposed changes that will open up the Greenbelt for development (link: https://news.ontario.ca/en/statement/1002453/ontario-launches-consultat…).

While the housing crisis clearly needs to be addressed, Bill 23 proposes to solve one crisis (housing) at the expense of another (climate change). This bill contains some positive elements. But the removal of many environmental regulations will saddle future homeowners with the costs of having to upgrade and repair their houses when their properties get flooded or when it turns out that their land does not harbor the trees and other plants that help protect against increasing urban heat.

These are not just concerns of a few environmental groups that can be easily ignored in the political calculus. In the future, all Ontario residents may have to pay the price for some of the worrying policy choices that are included in Bill 23.