Waterloo region responsible for creating 70,000 new homes under new proposed provincial rules
The tri-cities will be on the hook for the creation of 70,000 new homes by 2031 under sweeping new housing legislation announced Tuesday by the Ontario government.
The targets are part of a package of changes that will override municipal zoning laws in some situations and allow for the construction of up to three units on each residential lot.
Speaking at an event in Toronto Tuesday, Ford said the third installment of his government’s housing action plan will include “new solutions” that will allow the next generation of Ontarians to own a home.
“There’s no time to waste,” he said. “Previous governments saw the problem coming, but they totally ignored it.”
“You need to have a backbone to go out there and make those tough decisions. Our government will never ignore the many Ontario families who want a place to call home.”
The government tabled a bill Tuesday – called the More Homes, Built Faster Act – including a number of legislative changes and proposals they say will help “build housing faster and bring costs down,” allowing the Progressive Conservatives to meet their goal of building 1.5 million homes in 10 years.
As part of the plan, the PCs will be overriding municipal zoning laws to allow up to three units, such as basement apartment and garden homes, to be built on a single lot.
The government has assigned targets to 29 large municipalities based on population size and growth.
Kitchener will be responsible for the creation of 35,000 new homes, while Waterloo is on the hook for 16,000. Cambridge has been assigned a target of 19,000. Guelph has a goal of 18,000 and Brantford is responsible for 10,000 new homes.
Each city will have to develop “pledges” outlining how they will meet the targets. Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clarke would not expand on what would happen if municipalities do not meet their housing goals, saying only that he hopes municipalities will be up to the challenge.
"We'll work collaboratively with those largest communities that we've initiated a housing pledge," he said, adding that housing was a major issue throughout the municipal elections across the province.
As it stands, there is no additional financial investments announced Tuesday to help these municipalities make their goals or to make up the difference lost by the reduction of development charges and fees.
The housing legislation would go into effect by the summer of 2023 if it passes, the government says.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.