I strongly oppose Bill 60…

I strongly oppose Bill 60. The proposed changes will have serious consequences for renters, for the housing crisis generally, and for the resilience of our communities in the face of climate change and other crisis.
Key Concerns:
- Bill 60 proposes changes to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 that could end the current indefiniteness of tenancy agreements and allow fixed-term leases that convert more easily to new terms (or to eviction threats). The result is that renters will face greater risk of eviction, rent increases, or forced moves, which is deeply unfair and destabilizing.
- Rather than addressing core issues (affordability, sufficient supply, proper infrastructure), Bill 60 favours deregulation, weakening of protections, standardization of municipal planning, streamlining at the cost of local nuance. This will increase displacement, and drive up homelessness. If renters are less secure, and local municipalities have less capacity to intervene on behalf of tenants or implement tailored housing strategies, the social safety net is weakened. This runs counter to any goal of "solving" the housing crisis, it makes it worse.
- Bill 60 includes provisions that would allow the Minister to override provincial planning statements and prescribe the format and content of municipal official plans. This is a major centralization of power and a standardization of planning across cities and communities. Every community has its unique needs and its unique identity: geography, demographics, climate-risks, transit links, infrastructure, social character. To force a "one size fits all" planning model is to ignore those differences, and will lead to inequitable communities.
- Another very worrying aspect is the prohibition of enhanced development standards outside the building envelope (such a permeable pavement, native tree planting, bicycle parking) would hamper the city's ability to adapt to storm water, heat, flooding and other climate driven risks. If municipal powers to address local climate resilience are stripped or standardized, we reduce our capacity to respond to extreme rainfall events, urban heat islands and other catastrophic climate disasters. In other words: this is a step backward to building resilient, future ready communities.

The bills title and stated purpose emphasise "fighting delays" and "building faster" but the essence of this bill is largely in favour of developers and landlords, not tenants and not the working class of Ontario. This equity imbalance is unjust and unacceptable. I urge the government to focus on issues that really matter, to work for the betterment of Ontarians and not towards building profits for developers and the already privileged. Bring back rent control, restore strong tenant protections, preserve local municipal planning autonomy, and uphold resilient community development.