I appreciate that the…

I appreciate that the provincial government is concerned about the lack of affordable housing for Ontarians. As a young person hoping to have a future in Ontario, it looks bleak in terms of being able to afford the cost of living in the coming years.

However, Bill 23 fails to provide the affordable housing that is so badly needed inside existing cities.

It locks this province into urban sprawl, which only increases the cost of living for everyone. Building at the outskirts of the city means that homeowners needs to own at least one vehicle, because they will have to drive everywhere they need to go – adding to the cost of living. Gas is not cheap, and it’s not going to get cheaper in the future as there is less and less of it.

This will also require taxpayers of each city to spend more on building and maintaining roads – adding to property tax increases. It will lead to poorer health outcomes as it will contribute to pollution in these areas, which is especially detrimental to children. Residents in this area will spend more time in vehicles and less time in more healthy modes of transportation, like walking and cycling. This will add to health care costs.

For renters in this province (a significant portion of the province) Bill 23 is stripping away or severely weakening two major tools Cities can use to address housing affordability. 'Inclusionary zoning' can require developers to include a certain portion of units that meet affordability criteria in new builds and 'rental replacement' protects tenants when a developer demolishes or converts an existing rental housing property. Both of these must stay and in fact be encouraged if there is any is any hope of people affording to live in this province.

Let’s work together to find better ways to incentivize developing in areas that already have infrastructure. This will accelerate housing in our province, as infrastructure adds a significant time delay, and costs, to projects.

There is a big difference between “affordable housing” and “social housing” and “supportive housing”. We need all three! We need housing that is affordable for the average person, and we also need more social housing. Very little (if any!) social housing has been built in Ontario in decades, yet our population has increased.

Here in London, the wait list for social housing is over 6,000, with a waitlist of 10 years! This is especially harmful for single mothers – how can youth become contributing members of society when they begin life at such a disadvantage? As a resident of Ontario, I am not proud of this. We cannot leave these Ontarians behind.

We know that the opioid crisis is accelerating. We have more people living on the streets with mental health challenges, which only get worse the longer they remain homeless. Supportive housing provides “housing first” strategies with supports that help individuals become more stable and see a road to recovery through community.

We need housing that prioritizes the well being of people, that brings communities together, and prioritizes green space. Bill 23 is a “business as usual” development Bill that is only going to create more problems than if solves. Please, for the residents on Ontario, rescind Bill 23.