Bill 17 is an omnibus Bill…

Bill 17 is an omnibus Bill that represents one entry in the Government’s long list of municipal interference.
Bill 17 will require Municipalities to get approval from the Provincial Minister for amendments to the Official Plans. Despite its fundamental claims around the purpose of Bill 17, the Bill has major elements that are directly contrary to faster and smarter home building. This Bill will rob Ontarians of long-term home savings and resilient and climate-safe homes, and will derail efforts toward building a cleaner and greener Ontario.
We are certainly in a housing crisis and I support moves toward the intensification of housing development. Only underscoring the gap between affordability measures on paper versus in practice, Bill 17 upholds a set aside rate for inclusionary housing of 5% with a maximum affordability period of affordability of 25 years. With homelessness increasing and jumping 25% from 2022, it is apparent that current measures are ineffective and the provisions of the Bill will be so as well!
Developers under Bill 17 have no incentive to pursue innovative infrastructure practices, like the Green Development Standards. Seeing as this Government under Doug Ford would hold the power to promote or reject regulations under this legislation (the same Government that repeatedly tried to repeal environmental protections, whether through the Greenbelt, or now, as we are seeing it in Bill 5) the potential that they would actually approve a municipal request to implement Green Standards on a project seems HIGHLY unlikely.
While the Bill offers some viable programs for the intensification of residential development, it continues to villainize the wrong culprits, namely Green Development Standards, for housing unaffordability and shortage, despite ample evidence to the contrary.
Notably, in 2023, Toronto exceeded its housing target by 51% with approximately 96% of Housing Starts adhering to the Green Standard. Moreover, this provision will limit the ability of municipalities to address important aspects of urban design, such as flood protection, air quality, and climate change.
Without these considerations, homes in Ontario will lack essential efficiencies and as a result homeowners will pay higher operating costs AND homeowners will lose out on significant rebates, comfort, and emergency preparedness!
To truly build affordable housing that will get the homeless off our streets and out of our parks, we need to intensify residential construction which includes Green Development Standards to bring Ontario into the 21st century.
Please amend Bill 17.