By Allison Jones
Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack launched laws Thursday that he stated would streamline approvals and let builders construct houses extra shortly.
“Merely put, it takes too lengthy and it prices an excessive amount of to construct infrastructure and houses in Ontario,” he stated at a press convention.
“This laws continues to construct on the work we’ve carried out beforehand to create the circumstances (for) homebuilders to do what they do finest and that’s to construct.”
However when requested if it could spur the business sufficient to permit the province to achieve its 1.5 million house aim, Flack was noncommittal.
“I’m dedicated to getting shovels within the floor sooner,” he stated. “I’m wanting on the subsequent six to 12 months to get this factor kick began. The longer term would be the future. We’re in a housing disaster. We get it.”
Ontario’s ultimate tally for housing begins in 2024 was nicely off what’s wanted to attain 1.5 million houses, even with numerous new classes the federal government is including resembling college dorms, and the monetary accountability officer says housing begins for the primary quarter of 2025 had been on the lowest ranges since 2009.
Homebuilders have stated that a few of the most useful measures governments may take to encourage improvement could be to cut back taxes and costs.
Measures in Flack’s laws embrace prohibiting the town of Toronto from requiring inexperienced roofs and taking intention at different so-called inexperienced requirements, rushing up the institution of transit-oriented communities, permitting some minor variances as of proper and facilitating sooner minister’s zoning orders, which permit regular planning processes to be circumvented.
Dave Wilkes, president and CEO of the Constructing Trade and Land Improvement Affiliation, stated he welcomed the laws.
“This invoice acknowledges and addresses the significance of manufacturing housing provide sooner, at a scale and value to satisfy the wants of Ontario households,” he wrote in a press release.
The laws additionally goals to sort out some rental points, together with delays on the Landlord and Tenant Board, and would shorten the discover interval when tenants are being evicted on account of non-payment of lease.
As nicely, the invoice accommodates a number of transportation objects, and Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria stated it contains making certain business truck drivers on Ontario roads, notably northern highways resembling 11 and 17, are higher geared up to deal with street circumstances resembling heavy snowfall.
“One of many modifications made right here, to have a compulsory licence ready interval of Canadian driving expertise of at the least one yr, would be sure that people (who) are right here expertise street circumstances of all types earlier than being eligible for a business car licence,” he stated.
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Final modified: October 23, 2025
