Decarbonizing buildings is…

Decarbonizing buildings is essential to meeting our net-zero targets by 2050 and this Bill 17 goes against this. If we don't meet our net-zero targets, we are putting future generations at risk. We are failing to protect Ontarians from extreme weather events, loss of biodiversity, increased flooding risk and damages to public and private infrastructure due to climate change. Please do not continue passing bills that are undoing policies that are helping us transition off of oil and gas dependence within the buildings sector.

In addition, Green Development Standards (GDS) reduce red tape and standardize planning processes, resulting in long-term predictability that housing developers need to succeed. Streamlining development processes has been a cornerstone feature of GDS across Ontario.

Bill 17 would negatively impact municipalities’ ability to implement GDS, limiting their capacity to ensure that new development is not only built quickly, but also remains energy-efficient, livable, and affordable over the long term. These standards help lower utility bills, reduce infrastructure costs and cut emissions, delivering lasting affordability year after year.

Moreover, when looking across all the Ontario municipalities benchmarked by the CHBA, all of the cities with a GDS have made progress in accelerating approval timelines, and all of the cities without a GDS have seen timelines get slower. The evidence is clear that GDS accelerate rather than slow housing development.

The policy back tracks the autonomy of municipalities to set their own net-zero targets and is not consultation with the needs of local governments, including the residents with the GTHA.