The proposed changes to the…

The proposed changes to the Planning Act will not bring affordable homes faster. It will, rather, enable international capital to invest in real estate in Ontario faster, which will undermine affordability for Ontario residents. This act has nothing to do with providing more housing options. It clearly is aiming to reduce development costs at the expense of municipal infrastructure and the revenue needed to support sound infrastructure, including parks and community facilities.

Bill 108 is a bad act, giving developers and land speculators a free hand at the expense of the public good, and taking away authority from local government to uphold their provincially-approved Official Plans and to uphold community-driven planning. It is time for the Provincial government to recognize Ontario municipal government as a mature, accountable order of government.

If this act is passed, it needs to be extensively modified to ensure, at the very minimum: compensation to support municipalities which will lose money under the proposed community benefit charge regime; extensive stakeholder consultation over regulations; that municipalities are able to use inclusionary zoning provisions of the Planning Act broadly – and not so narrowly as envisioned in Bill 108; that municipalities are allowed to calculate the Community Benefits Charge based on per unit charges and without a cap to account for construction of facilities that are not related to land values; that community benefits are not curtailed by proposed changes to Section 37 provisions, which unduly limit the power of the municipality to derive infrastructure funds from developers.

The Provincial government needs to cooperate with municipal governments when considering new legislation or regulations that will have a municipal impact and not ride roughshod over them. This bill violates this basic principle.