Good morning. Let us pray.

Prayers.

Mr. Calandra moved second reading of the following bill:

Bill 136, An Act to amend the Greenbelt Act, 2005 and certain other Acts, to enact the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve Act, 2023, to repeal an Act and to revoke various regulations / Projet de loi 136, Loi modifiant la Loi de 2005 sur la ceinture de verdure et d’autres lois, édictant la Loi de 2023 sur la Réserve agricole de Duffins-Rouge et abrogeant une loi et divers règlements.

Thank you very much, Speaker. Thank you for the opportunity to rise today. Let me just say that I will be splitting my time with the Associate Minister of Housing and the parliamentary assistant, the member for Perth–Wellington.

Thanks again, Speaker. It is, of course, always an honour to rise in the Legislature to begin debate on this important piece of legislation that has a number of different elements to it, but ostensibly, to reimpose protections over parts of the greenbelt and the Oak Ridges moraine, and to also expand the greenbelt and to ultimately codify those boundaries into legislation.

As you know, of course, Speaker, the greenbelt itself is over two million acres, or 800,000 hectares, across the greater Golden Horseshoe. It is a protected area of land that has many different facets to it in an area that is expected to have very rapid population growth. Of course, the greater Golden Horseshoe is one of North America’s fastest-growing regions. It is an area whose population is forecasted to exceed 15 million people by 2051.

As set out in the Greenbelt Act, changes to the greenbelt boundary can currently be made through regulation. The Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, which is part of this, was established under the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act in 2002. It provides direction on land use and resource management for the land and water located within the moraine. The Oak Ridges moraine portion is 470,000 acres, or 190,000 hectares, of land. Together, allowing the Niagara Escarpment, they form the greenbelt lands.

The proposed Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023, would amend the Greenbelt Act, 2005, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Act, and enact the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve Act, 2023. So the legislation restores 15 areas of land that were removed or redesignated from the greenbelt and the Oak Ridges moraine areas in late 2022. These parcels of land amount to approximately 7,400 acres across 10 municipalities, those being Vaughan, King, Richmond Hill, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Marham, Pickering, Ajax, Clarington, Hamilton and Grimsby.

Those lands, as I said, will be added back into the greenbelt. We are also proposing to restore the protections to the greenbelt lands that they had before the 2022 amendment, and we will, as I said, be doing even more to enhance the protection of the greenbelt.

Speaker, I talked about enshrining the boundaries of the greenbelt in legislation. As you know and as colleagues will know, currently, changes to the greenbelt can be made through an order in council and with a posting on the environmental registry. What we are proposing to do is ensure that the boundaries, should they ever be changed in the future, would need to have legislative approval, meaning the government of the day would be required to bring legislation to the House and follow through the procedures of passing a bill in the House. All of the same tools with respect to postings on the environmental registry would continue in addition to the protection of the boundaries through legislation.

As I said, we are revoking the existing Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council regulation-making authority with the passage of this bill. Now, this is obviously an unprecedented level of protection across the greenbelt. It stems from the fact that people obviously want to see an enhanced level of protection across these lands while still making the lands available for important infrastructure, as was intended when the bill was passed by the House in 2005.

In addition, we will be adding over 9,400 acres of land to the greenbelt across 13 urban river valley areas. These include:

—Stoney Creek;

—Wilmot Creek;

—Soper Creek in Bowmanville;

—Harmony Creek by adding Darlington Provincial Park, which is partially located in both Oshawa and partly in Clarington;

—an expanded urban river valley for the Oshawa Creek;

—an expanded urban river valley for Fourteen Mile Creek in Oakville;

—an additional one for the Don River in Toronto by adding Burke Brook, Wilket Creek and Taylor-Massey Creek; and

—an expansion of the Humber River urban river valley by adding Humber Creek and Black Creek.

That is obviously good news for all of those areas—probably areas of natural heritage which should have been put into the greenbelt before but are being added in now.

At the same time, we will be restoring the protections that were brought to the area through the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve Act, 2005. What we propose to do is reinstate the protections provided for the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve easements and covenants. This would recognize the importance of agriculture land and ensure its sustainable use for present and future generations, and I think that is obviously very, very important. It builds on the work of ensuring that these lands are not only protected but that we ensure we protect the lands that are reserved for farming in this area.

It builds on some of the work that was done by some of my colleagues who served federally when some 5,000 acres of land were removed from what is still on the books as the Pickering airport lands. Speaker, you know there is a massive swath of land in this very same area in the eastern part of Toronto which encompasses a huge part of Durham: Pickering, parts of Uxbridge, Whitby and Oshawa. These are the Pickering airport lands. It is still on the books federally, but back in 2015, thousands of acres were taken out of that on the York region side and put into the Rouge National Urban Park. Those lands, as they were transitioned out of the Pickering airport lands and put into the Rouge National Urban Park, were protected for farming—the first time that long-term protections were granted to our farmers in that area. Part of that was to ensure that farmers were given long-term leases in this area. Prior to that, they were on one-year leases, which made it very hard for the local farmers to ensure that they could make positive infrastructure improvements on the land drainage and so on and so forth. That was very good news. The restoration of the Greenbelt Act, preserving it through legislation and reinserting the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve covenants I think will all add to the protections that are in place without limiting future governments’ ability to add infrastructure to the area if this House should approve.

There is a provision in the original 2005 act. There was a provision in that act for a review, and it’s a 10-year review. I think the last time the review took place it was started in 2015 and concluded, if I’m not mistaken, in 2017. So I’m looking at making some changes to how the review process will take place in the future. I outlined a little bit of this already, but what we want to do is—obviously, when we do the review, we will remove the review from politics and put it back to where it belongs. We will ensure that any future review will be guided by non-partisan experts in conservation and agriculture, and environmentalists, and we’ll engage with Indigenous communities and municipalities.

Once final, the experts’ recommendations will be provided to the Auditor General and the Commissioner of the Environment for consultation to ensure that the review process was fair and guided by recent recommendations to improve the process. We have said that we will undertake a review, and the future review, of course, will be, as I’ve said, guided by protection of natural heritage, the protection of water resources and the preservation of agriculture across the greenbelt lands. We’ll have some additional information on that in the near future. I suspect that we will want to begin our consultations with a very robust process that starts with First Nations partners in the area who have been so instrumental in helping us arrive at this piece of legislation.

I also want to just briefly talk about some of the reasons or the rationale that began this process. I’ve said it on a number of occasions in the House, and as the Integrity Commissioner put in his own report, the initial impetus was, of course, to ensure that we could build housing across the province of Ontario as quickly as possible, in particular, throughout the greater Golden Horseshoe which, as I said at the start of my speech, is expected to grow to over 15 million people in this region by 2051. But what was very clear, as this process went further, was that people were not brought along in a fashion that engendered public support for removing the lands from the greenbelt. The decision, of course, was made to re-protect those lands and to move forward.

At the same time, it does not and will not diminish from the government’s commitment to build 1.5 million homes by 2031 across Ontario. We have seen over and over again how important a goal that is for people. You’ve heard the Premier, myself and virtually every single member of the Progressive Conservative caucus talk about the importance of building homes for people. We are welcoming to this province, thankfully, thousands of people each and every year who are coming to Ontario to help us build a bigger, better, stronger province of Ontario. These are people that we need.

But at the same time, we have generations of Ontarians who have benefitted from an Ontario that offered their parents endless opportunity, and many of them right now are feeling, in terms of housing, that they might not be able to enjoy the same opportunities that the parents had. At the same time, Madam Speaker, they’ve been very clear in a lot of instances in the sense that they are doing everything right: They are saving money; they are working hard; they’ve done everything that they have to do in order to be able to afford a new home. However, we have not been able to keep up pace to allow them to live out this dream.

So we will be doubling down on our efforts to ensure that all Ontarians can share in this dream. This will include, of course, ensuring that our partners in municipalities across Ontario are as aggressive as we are at getting shovels in the ground.

We will continue to remove obstacles. We will continue to work with our partners in the home-building industry to ensure that they have the opportunity to build communities as fast as we possibly can. We will continue to build long-term-care homes. We will continue to focus that development around transit and transportation infrastructure because we know, in order to build livable communities, that you have to not only build homes but you have to build communities around those homes, which include transit, transportation; which include schools; which includes offering a whole host of services that make a community great.

Madam Speaker, in a nutshell, this bill will restore the lands. It will improve the protection of the greenbelt lands. It will ensure a review process in the future that is guided by the original principles of the Oak Ridges moraine, that uses outside experts to ensure that review process is fair, that assesses that fairness through a reference to the Auditor General and the environment commissioner, and ultimately requires approval of the Legislature to make any further changes in the future. With that, I will yield my time to the Associate Minister of Housing.

Thank you, Minister. I appreciate the opportunity to speak about Bill 136, the proposed Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023.

As the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing stated, we are following through on our commitment to restore greenbelt lands, enhance the protection of those lands with this proposed legislation, and in fact, grow the total acreage of Ontario’s greenbelt. Speaker, as the minister said, we’re adding an additional 9,400 acres, which will make it absolutely pristine, and I am excited about the lands going in as well as the land staying in.

This bill would ensure that any boundary changes can only be made through a public and transparent process that would require the approval of this Legislature.

As you are aware, Speaker, from other legislation currently before this House, we are also following through on our other commitment, the commitment to build homes right across this province.

Achieving both these commitments means working together with our municipal, our private sector and our not-for-profit partners. We remain focused on strengthening protections for the greenbelt while at the same time ensuring that community home builders in municipalities across the province can get shovels in the ground quickly to build the homes to meet our collective housing targets.

Speaker, we all know, too many people in Ontario are struggling to find a home that meets their needs and their budget. They are struggling to find an affordable place to call home. Our government is determined to help these people by creating a collaborative environment to build 1.5 million homes by 2031. We’re going to do that by working together under Premier Ford’s leadership and by updating and improving the processes that get housing built, and built faster.

Fortunately, Speaker, we are well on our way, with 11% of our target already achieved. But we all know so much more is needed and so much more is required to meet the need to meet and exceed the 1.5-million-homes-built target.

Since the beginning of our mandate, we have put forward numerous measures to help increase the supply of housing. We’ve done this by:

—encouraging increased density through Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act—as we say, build in, build up, where possible;

—working with municipalities to remove red tape and eliminate duplication in the planning process—that is essential;

—announcing the expansion of strong-mayor powers to heads of council who have committed to the housing targets provided by the province; and

—proposing to revise the definition of “affordable residential units” through Bill 134, the Affordable Homes and Good Jobs Act, to reduce the costs of building much-needed affordable units.

These are just a few of the many measures we have taken to build new homes and prepare for the population growth we know is coming.

As I have said before in the House here, many years ago when I was in high school, the province was about 7.5 million people. Today, it’s 15.5 million and growing fast. In fact, I would argue the growth is already here. We talk about these targets, but I think, we are going to be a population of 20 million people before we know it. That is why our government has a bias for action and sense of urgency to get the job done.

Ontario is expected to grow by two million people over the next 10 years—my personal opinion is I think it will be more—with approximately 70% of the growth taking place in the greater Golden Horseshoe, one of the fastest-growing regions not only in the province or in the country but in North America, as the minister said and outlined, this is an integral part of the growth of this province. By 2051, this region alone, as the minister said, will be 15 million people—the size of Ontario today.

We must act now to make it easier to build more housing to accommodate these newcomers—whether it’s seniors, newcomers, students or whether it’s first-time homebuyers—all these collective people will be in the greater Golden Horseshoe area and, in fact, throughout the province.

In our third housing supply action plan, Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster, we introduced measures that encouraged the creation of up to three units on most urban residential lots. For example, a main residence, a basement apartment and laneway house will be accommodated for and, where applicable, this housing will help accommodate thousands of Ontarians looking for housing stability. This means enabling these additional housing options on residential lots where neighbourhoods already exist without lengthy planning approvals and development charges.

Increased density could accommodate extended family members, increase the mix of rental housing options and help homeowners pay their mortgage. These additional housing options would be facilitated where housing and infrastructure already exist. It will make it easier for people to live closer to family, to their jobs and to the communities. It will take both short-term strategies and a long-term commitment from all levels of government to drive this change. As we make it easier to build housing, we will continue to ensure that municipalities are planning for sufficient land supply over the long term to accommodate growth.

Our More Homes Built Faster housing supply action plan is working to streamline municipal planning responsibilities to remove duplication in the planning process. The plan will help cities, towns and our rural communities grow with a mix of ownership and rental housing types that meet the needs of all Ontarians—from single-family homes to townhomes and to mid-rise apartments.

Since 2019, we have released four housing supply action plans, taking significant action to unlock more housing supply. Our government’s previous housing supply action plans and other significant measures we have taken thus far are having a positive effect on housing supply, helping us transform Ontario to meet the needs of the future. We have been making meaningful progress, but as we’ve said, more is needed to be done.

Both in 2021 and 2022, we saw the most housing starts in over 30 years in Ontario, with close to 100,000 housing starts recorded in each year. In fact, as I already mentioned, we’ve already achieved 11% of our housing target, but, again, we need to accelerate the pace upon which we’re getting homes built. In 2022, Ontario recorded close to 15,000 purpose-built rental housing starts, the highest number on record, up 43.5% year-over-year. However, to accelerate the creation of housing supply, we need to take steps to support the efforts of our municipal partners and achieve our goal of building at least 1.5 million new homes—again, at least 1.5 million—by 2031.

We’ve got some heavy lifting ahead, Speaker. It will take all stakeholders, whether it’s the federal government, the provincial government, our municipal partners, along with the not-for-profit and, yes, the private sector, including financial institutions, to help us get the job done.

To help facilitate working together, this province is expanding strong-mayor powers to additional municipalities as long as heads of council have committed in writing to the housing target provided by the province. These municipalities would then receive strong-mayor powers by October 31, 2023. These powers will provide the tools the mayors and these municipalities need to help drive increased housing supply, speed up local planning approvals and help make council decisions more effective, and enable mayors to bring forward budgets that would allocate resources to priority items like housing.

We are further incentivizing the municipalities to build more housing with the new Building Faster Fund. As announced at AMO, the Building Faster Fund is a three-year, $1.2-billion fund that will provide up to $400 million per year to municipalities that meet and exceed their annual housing targets. It will provide financial support for municipalities that can be directed toward housing-enabling infrastructure and related costs that support community growth.

The fund can be accessed by the 50 municipalities, as said, who have been assigned and have agreed to their housing target. A portion of the funding will also be reserved for small, rural and northern communities that have not yet been assigned a target. This is an important plank in the strategy. This new program will put municipalities and the province on a path to achieve our common objective of increasing our housing supply.

As I have mentioned, all levels of government must work together to address this housing crisis. Ontario is also working closely with the federal government to increase the supply of purpose-built rentals. Following our long-standing call, Ontario absolutely welcomes the federal government’s decision to provide HST relief for new purpose-built rental housing. In fact, last Friday, while I was in my riding, I met with some local not-for-profit folks, and they were very excited about this opportunity, especially when they’re looking at new builds. These new builds are going to obviously complement the need for more housing options in our province and in our region.

As we await more details, we are looking forward to working with the federal government to ensure Ontario’s portion of the HST is removed from qualifying purpose-built rental housing as soon as possible. Removing both the federal and provincial portions of the HST is a measure that will make it easier and more cost-effective to build this important housing segment in this province.

I’ve also met with some colleges and universities of late. Again, in my own community, I look back at how many kids were around in August. I could name three who were heading off to different universities and colleges but didn’t have a place to call home yet. Their parents were phoning. They were struggling. They were worried. They were quite perplexed, driving back and forth to the different cities to try to find housing options. Fortunately, every one of them got them, but not their first choice. We need to also help enable our universities and colleges to get shovels in the ground faster through effective funding and effective measures.

We also need to get shovels in the ground faster to start building homes for the workers of tomorrow. We are focused on creating the conditions for growth and construction to take place and making it less expensive to get housing built. We are also working to strengthen local economies and create more good-paying jobs.

Again, I will continue to stand up and scream about the wonderful news St. Thomas got earlier this year in March, when we welcomed the news that Volkswagen, Europe’s largest auto manufacturer, will establish its subsidiary PowerCo electric-vehicle-battery manufacturing facility right there, outside of St. Thomas. When completed, this will be the fourth-largest manufacturing facility in the world. It will bring thousands of good-paying jobs and even more families to the beautiful community in southern Ontario.

I met with the warden of Elgin county last week and the mayor of Central Elgin, standing just south of St. Thomas, looking out at the county building and looking across. We drove through and looked at the site that’s being prepared. It was a daunting feeling. We sat there and talked. We’ve got 3,000 people coming directly to work at that plant and 30,000 tertiary jobs that will be in that community and throughout the province.

As I’ve said all along, we do a great job in this province. We’re creating economic growth. We’re creating jobs. From my agri-food sector, we are feeding everyone and we will continue to feed everyone as we continue to grow, thanks to the innovation and ingenuity of our farmers and food processers.

The third leg of the stool that we still need so much more work to do is getting roofs over people’s heads so when these people come to work they have a place to call home.

To help facilitate this job creation we recently proposed the Affordable Homes and Good Jobs Act. If passed, this legislation would help support Volkswagen and their historic investment and give the city of St. Thomas the authority to provide PowerCo SE municipal-based incentives that were negotiated in partnership with the municipality.

The battery-cell manufacturing facility will be the largest of its kind in Canada, as I said the fourth-largest plant in the world—just think about the economic prosperity, the jobs and the opportunity in southwestern Ontario. The auto sector, as many of my colleagues will have realized from down there, has been shrinking since I moved to London many decades ago—Dorchester—our manufacturing sector, has waned, continued to decrease. With the historic announcements, both with Stellantis in Windsor and Volkswagen in St. Thomas, we’re going to see in this important sector great-paying jobs with benefits and pensions. We’re all very, very excited. It’s going to be a boon for the future. It’s going to help future generations for years to come.

By delivering on these cost savings for critical infrastructure we are also creating the right conditions for not only Volkswagen to come but other companies as well.

But again, housing affordability, housing attainability—housing, period—is the leg of the stool we have to improve upon. Ontario will be hard-pressed to attract new investment, new companies and new employers if we can’t get the housing built that we need. In addition to helping create the conditions that foster new jobs, Bill 134, the proposed Affordable Homes and Good Jobs Act, would, along with other measures, support getting more affordable residential units built in Ontario.

Again, Speaker, I was speaking to a manufacturer who is coming to the London region—excited about coming—and when we were talking about what the biggest risk was, I said, “You’ve got to find homes for the people that you’re going to employ.” So he’s looking at new and bold initiatives, looking at the modular sector, the tiny-homes sector, to get shovels in the ground and get these homes built as soon as he can so once he starts the plant we’ve got people with roofs over their heads.

The proposed changes recently introduced in the act would bolster our efforts to lower the cost of building, purchasing and renting affordable homes across the province. These proposed changes affect the collection of municipal development-related charges related to affordable housing. These charges are development charges, community benefit charges and parkland levies.

We know that including income as a measure of affordability in Ontario is essential to making both home ownership and rental housing more affordable. That is why we have proposed a revised definition of “affordable residential units.” The definition would determine which residential units should be eligible for municipal development-related charge discounts and exemptions. It takes local income into account, in addition to local market factors.

Affordable residential units—both rental and ownership—that meet the province’s new definition would be eligible for discounts and exemptions from municipal development-related fees. Discounts and exemptions on these fees could help to ensure more Ontarians in all parts of the province can truly find an affordable home. Far too many people are struggling with the rising cost of living and finding housing that meets their family’s needs. By strategically exempting and discounting municipal development-related charges on affordable residential units, we will be counting on the community home building sector to step up and help build significantly more affordable housing.

The proposed change to the definition of “affordable residential units” under the Affordable Homes and Good Jobs Act considers the important feedback we received through two technical advisory tables. We also welcome further feedback on the proposed amendments through our postings on the Environmental Registry of Ontario and the regulatory registry. We welcome feedback from people throughout Ontario, whether they live in the greater Golden Horseshoe, eastern, northern or southwestern Ontario.

Speaker, as you can see, our government is getting it done by following through on our commitments. We have a big task ahead of us and, again, it’s going to take all partners throughout this province to get the job done. We are committed to providing the tools needed to help our municipal partners meet and exceed their housing targets. We are committed to increasing housing supply in Ontario, and through the actions we have already taken and the actions we will continue to take, we will keep building homes while enhancing protections for the greenbelt’s lands and its boundaries.

Well done is better than well said, Speaker. I think back again to the opportunity we have before us, especially my task, to a certain degree, in the modular homes sector. We are looking at government lands where we can facilitate affordable and attainable housing builds throughout the province. We have a housing summit planned for later in November. We’re looking at every avenue. Again, government by itself here is not going to solve the problem. We have to work collaboratively with our municipal, federal, non-profit sector and private sector, including, I want to add, financial institutions, as I already have. Our mission is a call to action. It is our collective mission throughout this province.

With that, I’d like to turn the floor over to the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

It’s an honour to share the government’s time today as the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and speak to the Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023. As the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing outlined in his remarks just a few moments ago, our government is introducing legislation that would, if passed, restore all properties that were redesignated or removed from the greenbelt and the Oak Ridges moraine areas in late 2022. We’re also proposing to keep 9,400 acres that were added to the greenbelt in 2022. The proposed legislation would enhance protections by ensuring any future changes to the greenbelt boundaries can only be made through the legislative process.

At the same time, Speaker, we remain focused on and committed to tackling Ontario’s housing supply crisis. We can’t lose sight of the fact that Ontario’s population continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. While the Associate Minister of Housing has spoken about our housing supply action plans and the changes they have driven, today I’d like to update the Legislature on what we have done and our progress stemming from the Housing Affordability Task Force.

The task force is comprised of industry leaders and experts. They consulted with municipalities, both urban and rural, the public and industry to identify measures to address the housing supply crisis and get homes built faster. The urgency behind the work of the task force is clear. Housing prices in Ontario have almost tripled in the past 10 years, growing much faster than incomes. This has placed home ownership beyond the reach of most first-time homebuyers across the province, even those with well-paying jobs. Finding affordable rental accommodations has also become an immense challenge. We know the system isn’t working as it should.

The report from the Housing Affordability Task Force was published in February 2022. It serves as a long-term road map for our government as we work to boost the supply of new homes and address the affordability crisis we’re currently in. The report sets out, as many will know in this place, 55 high-level recommendations. To implement these effectively, some recommendations require multiple actions. When these actions are included, we arrive at a total of 74 recommendations from the report.

I’m pleased to report that of the 74 recommendations, 23 are fully implemented, 14 are in progress and the remaining 37 are under review. Speaker, as you will know, the Minister of Municipal Affairs, when he assumed his role a few weeks ago, reached out to the municipalities to get their feedback on the remaining 37 and 14 currently in progress from the Housing Affordability Task Force recommendations, and I know that deadline just recently passed. I know, talking to my own local municipal colleagues, they really appreciated that the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing reached out to consult on those implementations and to get their ideas and feedback on how best we can continue to implement those moving forward, working with our partners, as the Associate Minister of Housing mentioned—our municipal partners and our federal colleagues—to ensure that we continue to build homes in communities across Ontario, whether it’s in downtown Toronto or downtown Listowel.

The 23 recommendations I’m going to discuss today have been all implemented by our government, either in their entirety or with some amendments. Recommendation number one was to set the bold goal of building at least 1.5 million new homes in 10 years. This recommendation is now at the heart of our government’s housing strategy. Everything we do to boost housing supply is driven by the goal of building at least 1.5 million new homes in the province by 2031. This has included introducing legislation, re-examining the process and, in some cases, enshrining new ways of working, similar to what brings us here today.

A number of recommendations and actions that have been taken have helped streamline the planning process. Recommendation number 3 was to limit exclusionary zoning in municipalities through binding provincial actions. Related action 3(a) was to allow as-of-right residential housing for up to four units and up to four stories on a single residential lot. The More Homes Built Faster Act amended the Planning Act to override zoning by-laws to allow as-of-right; in other words, without the need to apply for re-zoning, the use of up to three units per lot in most existing residential areas.

Municipalities are also encouraged to adopt official plan policies, the zoning by-law amendments that exceed the three unit per lot minimum, as some municipalities have chosen to do so, as my colleagues in this place will know. This will help them meet their provincially assigned housing targets. I know it was great to see many of the municipalities who were assigned housing targets sign on to those pledges and their commitment to work with our provincial government to meet our shared housing objectives. Ontario is supporting this outcome through measures such as the Building Faster Fund, as the Associate Minister of Housing referred to in his remarks. The fund will provide financial incentives for municipalities that meet or exceed their housing targets.

Recommendation number 5 was to permit as-of-right, secondary units, garden suites and laneway houses province-wide. The More Homes Built Faster Act amended the Planning Act by overriding bylaws to allow as-of right. As I have mentioned, this would permit the use of up to three units per lot in most residential areas that currently exist. One of these three units can be an auxiliary structure, such as a laneway house.

Another recommendation, number 12, was to create a more permissive land use, planning and approval system. Related action 12(a) was to repeal or override municipal policies, zoning or plans that prioritized the preservation of the physical character of a neighbourhood. The More Homes Built Faster Act amended the Planning Act to limit the scope of site plan control. It did this by removing the municipal ability to regulate architectural designs and aesthetic aspects of the landscape design. The next action under this recommendation, 12(b), was to exempt from site plan approval and public consultation all projects of 10 units or less that conform to the official plan and require only minor variances.

The More Homes Built Faster Act amended the Planning Act to remove all aspects of the site plan control for most residential developments up to 10 units.

Speaker, I’ll now tell you about the recommendations and actions that strike a balanced approach to reviews and consultation. Recommendation number 15 required the mandatory delegation of site plan approvals and minor variances to staff with pre-approved, qualified, third party technical consultants. This would be accomplished through a simplified review and approval process without the ability to withdraw council’s delegation. The More Homes for Everyone Act amended the Planning Act to require that site plan control decisions be made by staff instead of municipal councils or committees of council.

The next two action items under the umbrella recommendation number 16 are preventing abuse of the heritage preservation and designation process. The first action, number 16(a), was to prohibit the use of bulk listing on municipal heritage registers. Changes to O. Reg 9/06, criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest, established that non-designated properties included on a municipal register must meet one or more of the criteria outlined in the regulation.

The More Homes Built Faster Act amended the Ontario Heritage Act to introduce requirements that properties can only remain listed for a minimum of two years. If not designated during that time, they must be removed from the register and cannot be relisted for a period of five years.

The second action under this recommendation—16(b)—was to prohibit reactive heritage designations after a Planning Act development application has been filed. The More Homes Built Faster Act amended the Ontario Heritage Act to introduce a requirement that only properties that were already listed on a municipal heritage register can be considered for designation. This pertains to where a property is subject to certain Planning Act applications. This new requirement provides property owners with increased certainty. It also prohibits reactive designation on properties not previously noted as being of potential cultural heritage value or interest to a municipality.

Recommendation 18 was to restore the right of developers to appeal official plans and municipal comprehensive reviews. The More Homes, More Choice Act removed restrictions on “de novo” hearings by repealing sections 38 to 42 of the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Act. “De novo,” in this context, means where the hearing starts anew, focusing on facts without any reference to decisions already taken. This broadened the grounds of appeal and supports the Ontario Land Tribunal in making the best planning decision.

The task force’s recommendation number 19 suggested enshrining in legislation timelines at each stage of the provincial and municipal review process. The Planning Act now includes statutory decision-making timelines with an ability for applicants to appeal matters to the Ontario Land Tribunal if timelines are not met. This is also addressed through gradual fee refunds for rezoning and site plan if decisions are not made within timelines.

Recommendation number 20 of the task force was to fund the creation of “approvals facilitators” with the authority to quickly resolve conflicts among municipal and/or provincial authorities and ensure timelines are met. The Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act amended the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Act to allow for the appointment of up to four deputy facilitators in the Office of the Provincial Land and Development Facilitator.

Recommendation number 24 was to allow wood construction up to 12 storeys. Amendments to Ontario’s building code allow encapsulated mass timber buildings to be constructed up to 12 storeys high.

Under recommendation 27, the expert panel put forward measures to prevent abuse of process. The Ontario Land Tribunal has the authority and processes in place to deter appeals that are without merit.

A related recommendation—27(b)—was to require a $10,000 filing fee for third-party appeals. Third-party appeals for consents and minor variances were eliminated as a result of amendments to the Planning Act made by the More Homes Built Faster Act. This means only certain persons, such as the applicant or relevant municipality, are allowed to appeal minor variance or consent decisions. However, increasing the filing fees for third-party appeals may result in concerns about access to justice.

Recommendation number 28 was to encourage greater use of oral decisions issued the day of the hearing, with written reasons to follow. This allows those decisions to become binding the day that they are issued. The Ontario Land Tribunal is providing updated training to members to encourage use of oral decisions when appropriate. In some cases, the complexity of the matter before the tribunal may require the member to reserve the decision.

Recommendation number 34 was to prohibit interest rates on development charges higher than a municipality’s borrowing rate. The More Homes Built Faster Act made changes to the Development Charges Act to set a maximum interest rate that can be levied for the development charge freeze and deferral provisions. The rate is the Canadian banks’ prime rate plus 1% per year.

Recommendation number 38 was to amend the Planning Act and Perpetuities Act to extend the maximum period for land leases and restrictive covenants on land to 40 or more years. The More Homes Built Faster Act amended the Planning Act to allow these land lease communities with leases for periods of up to 49 years to be exempted from subdivision control and the need for any approval. The exemption applies if a land lease community’s proposal has gone through the site plan control process. Changes to the Perpetuities Act were not required.

Speaker, the expert panel recommended calling on the federal government to implement an urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing strategy. Ontario has called on the federal government to implement these Indigenous housing strategies. The province has also raised the issue at both bilateral and multilateral federal-provincial-territorial meetings.

Other recommendations and actions pertain to developing workforce skills for housing. Recommendation number 45 was to improve funding for colleges, trade schools and apprenticeships, as well as to encourage and incentivize municipalities, unions and employers to provide more on-the-job training. Ontario is, as my colleagues will know in this place, investing $224 million to build and upgrade training centres across Ontario. This funding will help unions, Indigenous centres and industry associations to build new training centres or upgrade and convert existing facilities into new training centres with state-of-the-art equipment and technology.

The next recommendation, number 46, was to undertake a multi-stakeholder education program to promote skilled trades. Ontario has invested more than $1 billion in the skilled trades over three years, along with the launch of Skilled Trades Ontario, as part of its strategy to attract more people into the trades.

Recommendation number 47 was that the federal and provincial government prioritize skilled trades. It also called for an adjustment to the immigration point system to strongly favour needed trades and expedite immigration status for these workers. The recommendation also encouraged the federal government to increase from 9,000 to 20,000 the number of immigrants admitted through Ontario’s program. The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, also known as OINP, plans to use 40% of its 16,000 allocation for 2023 to nominate individuals in the skilled trades. Changes have been made to the expression of interest scoring system to award more points to candidates in priority occupations and sectors. The federal government is also prioritizing selection of some skilled trades occupations through category-based selection. Ontario will encourage the targeting of additional occupations through federal immigration selection programs.

Other recommendations and actions deal with keeping track of our progress. Recommendation 52 was to resume reporting on housing data and require consistent municipal reporting. Through the municipal planning data reporting regulation, large and fast-growing municipalities are now required to provide the province with planning application data on a regular basis. Ontario is working with municipal partners on reporting data and tracking progress.

As mentioned earlier, the Building Faster Fund is tied to performance in meeting provincial housing targets. We’ll launch an online tracker tool once reporting processes are finalized.

Recommendation 55 was to commit to evaluate the task force’s recommendations in the next three years, with public reporting on progress. An online tracking website went live in September—those who are interested can go online and see it for themselves—so that any interested parties can monitor the government’s progress in implementing the task force’s recommendations.

Speaker, I appreciate your indulgence on that in highlighting key initiatives we’ve taken on our 74 recommendations from the housing task force. The reason I did so was to provide an update to this House, but also to highlight that when we work with our municipal colleagues, we can continue to get more homes built. We can continue to work with our non-profit sector in implementing the things that they are saying to us. I know many individuals in this place meet with them often and hear their recommendations on how we can get more homes built faster. I know some of it may seem mundane and extremely detailed, but these are the important things that we need to get more homes built faster, working with our planning departments and working with our municipal colleagues to streamline the process, to get more homes built.

I know I’ve mentioned in this place on a couple of occasions, particularly around amending the appeals process—in my community, there was a proposed development. Not to the same extent as downtown Toronto, only a few storeys high—this was before our government came into power in 2018—and they were proposing to build it for seniors in my community, to allow those seniors who helped build that community to remain in their community. Unfortunately, this development was appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal and it held up the development for over a year. It added an extra $1 million in costs to the home builder, and the project still has not begun.

Now we’re challenged with higher interest rates, and those seniors do not have a place to remain in their community, the community they built. They don’t have a place to, as many will hear as well—some of our seniors are over-housed. They live in bigger homes and they want to downsize now that their families have homes of their own or have moved out, and they can’t do that. They can’t stay in their own community, and it’s because of this appeal where this one project, for example, wasn’t able to move forward. So it’s just one example of the changes we have made.

Speaker, I know our government, in the last election, ran on a policy of tabling a housing supply action plan—a minimum of one every year of a four-year mandate. Some colleagues may wonder, “Why wouldn’t we just do it all at once?” The challenge with that is, we’re not sure what will work in what community, so by tabling a housing supply action plan every year for four years, it gives us an opportunity to move forward, to see what’s working, to see what’s not working, to work with our municipal colleagues, to build on the successes we’ve had, whether that’s as-of-right of three units, or whether that’s also working to streamline the development process.

So tabling a housing supply action plan every year of a four-year mandate will allow us to correct that. It’s not just one sweeping solution to this housing supply crisis. I always tell people that if there was one magic bullet, no matter the government, they would have fired that bullet already. I know our government appreciates that feedback from all our municipal colleagues and community-builders across Ontario, and I think we’re seeing great progress in that.

The associate minister, in his remarks, mentioned that our housing starts in 2022 were at record highs. Purpose-built rentals were also at record highs in 2022, which is very important to see—to ensure that we do have those truly affordable units coming online for all Ontarians. It doesn’t matter your budget. You should all be able to have a place to call your own, Speaker. I know our government continues to work to achieve that goal through all of our housing supply action plans.

Really, again, as I mentioned in my remarks, achieving our 1.5 million housing target is at the centre of our government. Every single ministry is focused on helping us achieve that target, whether it’s the Minister of Infrastructure, whether it’s the Minister of Transportation or working with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on transit-oriented communities. It’s ensuring that we continue to build those communities that will thrive for generations to come, Speaker. It’s working across government to ensure that we achieve that. It’s working with the Minister of Finance and recommending to the federal government that we rebate the HST on purpose-built rentals, ensuring that we get more of those online, continuing to build on past successes.

Speaker, the challenges ahead are immense—I’m not going to mince words—but I know that by working together with our municipal colleagues, we’ll be able to achieve those targets and ensure that every family, whether you’ve been here for a few generations or whether you’ve just arrived to our shores, is able to call a place their own. I know on this side of the House and in the majority middle over there, we continue to strive to ensure that home ownership remains a dream for Ontarians and ensure Ontario remains a great province to live, work and play.

The member from Perth–Wellington.

I listened intently to the speakers this morning and I was thinking about back in my area of Essex county, about all the great builders we have in Essex county—and I’ve mentioned them here in this House before. I have mentioned the builders who are building homes, like Norville Construction and others. Many, many projects are going up in Essex county, including multi-level and multi-unit residences. Those are going to provide great homes for people who want to retire and stay in their communities, but also possibilities for people who are just starting out.

I’m wondering if any of the speakers would like to stand and elaborate on what the government is doing to help people who want to retire and perhaps downsize remain in the communities where they lived and grew up.

Many communities in my region of northwestern Ontario cannot afford to build housing. It’s far too expensive to bring in the workers, bring in the materials. I know that those communities have been waiting for the announcement, from the building homes faster, about the rural and northern program part. You mentioned that today; the associate minister mentioned that today.

When will the details of that program be announced? We need dollar amounts, application details and so on.

It’s definitely an interesting time in the Ontario Legislature. Once again we’re watching the government walk back legislation and moves that they have been working on for the past two years and, quite frankly, wasting time for people who are desperate for housing. The housing calls come to our office—and people seriously desperate, with five children, living in tents, with fears of children’s aid societies taking their children from them.

My question is a very serious question to this government: We hear a lot of lip service, but when are they actually going to provide the immediate housing that the people in the province need today? Not plans for the future; no more wasting time like we’re doing now, backtracking on their bad legislation.

I won’t select which person I need a response from, but the question I have for the government is—I appreciate the rollback of the attack on the greenbelt. I want to ask why the lands that are part of the greenbelt that are going to be destroyed by Highway 413 aren’t being protected in this bill.

Speaker, as you know, the bill and the greenbelt, as it was contemplated back in 2005, ensures that important pieces of infrastructure can be built within the greenbelt area lands. We’re not changing that. Obviously, it’s very important that, as I said in my speech, with the Golden Horseshoe to expand to 15 million people by 2051, they do need to have opportunity to move around the province and get product to market. We will continue with the 413 because it’s an important piece of infrastructure.

I’ve used ministerial zoning orders and will continue to use ministerial zoning orders to help ensure that housing gets done faster. That includes social housing and affordable housing across the province of Ontario. Our housing supply action plans have been moving forward each and every year, and of course the Housing Affordability Task Force—we are well on our way to accomplishing a number of the recommendations there.

We are not stopping building homes. In fact, we have the highest level of starts in over 30 years and the highest level of purpose-built rentals in over 30 years. I think the policies that we’ve got in place are working very well, but we have to double down and do even more.

It’s time for questions.

As part of the restoring of protections and policy of the Greenbelt Act in its entirety, the government has also included a need for a review every 10 years. Can the parliamentary assistant to the minister expand on what this review will look like and some of the underlying principles that guide that work?

Thank you to the member from Whitby for his very important and good question. The review is in the act right now, as the member may know, but we’re going to, obviously, codify the greenbelt in legislation. That review will consult with environmental experts. It will consult with, as the minister mentioned as well in his remarks, the Indigenous community. And it will consult with the municipalities in the greenbelt, obviously, as well, ensuring that all voices are heard through the process and ensuring that we have a robust greenbelt for years to come.

They are very important points raised by the member from Windsor–Tecumseh. As another young member, if I can be so bold as to say that, of our caucus, I am really focused on ensuring, as I mentioned in my remarks, that home ownership remains a reality for Ontarians, ensuring that new Canadians are able to purchase their own homes.

As well, Speaker—I mentioned a bit of it in my remarks, and to answer my colleague’s question—some of the changes were made around life leases. Life leases and an ownership in one of those communities provide an avenue to build some equity, to start that process for young people in that community. I know our government remains focused on ensuring that those are viable options, to ensure that we have housing for all individuals in Ontario.

I appreciate the question and I understand the concern. We are conducting a housing summit later in November, bringing all partners together to determine action plans going forward. We will be focused specifically on modular, attainable and affordable housing in all regions.

I would also point out that 10% of the Building Faster Fund will be delegated to smaller and rural municipalities to help with infrastructure, to help with building more homes faster. There are a number of tools in the tool box. Stay tuned. We have a full-fledged plan coming forward.

I would like to direct my question to the parliamentary assistant, given that I know he is a young Ontarian and I know that across Ontario, including in my hometown of Windsor–Tecumseh, our communities are growing. They’re growing phenomenally, at a great pace like I’ve never seen. Ontario’s population surpassed 15 million people for the first time ever last year. We know that this growth is continuing, with another four million new Ontarians projected to arrive by 2031. At the same time we know that young Ontarians like the parliamentary assistant—students, young hard-working professionals and new families—are being priced out of the housing market and finding it difficult to find a home that they can afford.

I’m wondering if the parliamentary assistant can explain how this new legislation, if passed, will build on our work to keep Ontario the best place to work, live and raise a family. How does this legislation, if passed, complement the other work our government is doing to create a better future and more opportunities for future generations?

Thank you to the member from Essex. There’s lots we’re doing to help seniors. I’ll give you an example. We own a lot of land in this province. We’re looking at opportunities where we can repurpose surplus lands and get modular, attainable, affordable housing, not only for new homebuyers but for newcomers and seniors who want to downsize. Because we understand that seniors that want to downsize don’t have the option today. In our community, for example, where I live, a lot of seniors want to downsize, but they have to spend as much for a smaller home as they do for the one they have.

If we have more options, we’re going to get the job done. I’m convinced, as the days go by and months go by, we’re going to see lots of new housing opportunities on the grounds that we own in this province.

It’s always great to stand and speak about the great things that are happening in Etobicoke–Lakeshore. First of all, I’d like to recognize Pat and Murray Wood, who reside in Tapestry at Village Gate West retirement home. They were recognized for the good work they did to make their home a better place. It was recognized by the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority’s 2023 Resident Champion Award. I had the opportunity to have coffee with Pat and Murray, and what a lovely time it was to learn about their residence and what they do to make everyone’s lives that much better in our community. So thank you to both of them.

I also want to congratulate the team at MABELLEarts. I had the opportunity to join a seniors’ chair yoga class, and what a great time that was. That yoga class was made possible by our own Raymond Cho and a seniors’ grant. I want to thank the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility for ensuring that our seniors can be active in their residences. I had a great time too, and I’m not a senior just yet.

Then I walked across the street to see the community centre that they’re building. It’s under construction, but I want to thank our government for an almost $200,000 investment into this wonderful place, which is going to be a meeting place for the community members to have barbecues, to watch plays, just to get together and have that conversation, because so many of our seniors out there need that companionship.

Lastly, I know Remembrance Day is coming up, and I’d like to take the time to remember and honour those who have fought for our freedoms and continue to keep us safe. May they never be forgotten.

I did not hear an answer to my question. We have people in tents across this province. Winter is literally on our doorstep. Families have nowhere to go. They cannot afford the rent. What is the plan for immediate housing for these people who are in crisis?

Again, we’ve increased funding by over $200 million to a record-setting level of over $700 million for immediate housing. At the same time, we’ve asked our federal partners to assist in communities across the province that are having challenges. We’ve acted unilaterally in that instance with a $49-million fund, including in the member’s community, to ensure that the underhoused have access to housing. At the same time, we are continuing with our housing supply action plans to make sure that we actually build the 1.5 million homes—

I rise today to celebrate the recent graduation of 10 new recruits to the Thunder Bay fire service. These recruits, now qualified firefighters, have gone through an extensive 14 weeks of training and education, clocking in over 500 hours each. I stand with much respect reflecting on their graduation, as the recruits have now stepped into their roles protecting and serving the residents of Thunder Bay.

Speaker, becoming a firefighter is not a job; it is a calling. It is a commitment to protect and serve others, often in the face of great personal danger. It’s about providing comfort to someone in their darkest hour, offering a helping hand in times of need and being a pillar of strength when all is lost. It is a vocation that demands unwavering courage, compassion and selfless dedication to public safety.

Throughout my 21 years as a firefighter, I have experienced the camaraderie, sacrifice and determination alongside my fellow service members, and I have been blessed with being part of the fire service family.

This province has a long history of supporting our first responders, and I’m proud to say that these new firefighters are a valued addition to the family. To the most recent graduates in Thunder Bay, welcome to the noble profession of firefighting. May you return home safely at the end of every shift.