I want to thank my honourable colleague from Burlington for the question and all the great work that she does in her riding.

Mr. Speaker, our legislation was clear: The More Homes Built Faster Act was intended to build on previous housing bills to further cut red tape and remove unnecessary barriers that were preventing the construction of new units in Ontario.

One key approach that we’re taking is by encouraging density around major transit areas, which will make it easier for Ontarians to take a bus, train or streetcar to and from work, and visit family and friends.

We want Ontarians to have the flexibility when it comes to housing: one that they can afford and one that meets their needs and their budgets. The only way that we can do this is by increasing supply in the areas that make sense, like major transit corridors, which is exactly what our government is doing.

I want to thank the member from Burlington for her strong advocacy when it comes to housing on behalf of her constituents.

Study after study is telling us that we are in a housing deficit, but we’re ensuring that more supply is created—of all types—to make sure that home ownership is within reach for more Ontarians; for example, the attainable housing program through the government surplus lands, exploring rent-to-own options and land lease communities.

To make housing more affordable and easier to enter the housing market for Ontarians, our government is increasing the term period for homes located in land lease communities from 21 years to 49 years, which, by extending it over time, will make homes more affordable. In fact, I saw first-hand the life-lease community of Sandycove in the great member’s riding of Barrie-Innisfil.

We know more work is needed, and we’ll continue to explore more options to make it easier for first-time homebuyers, seniors, young families and future generations to find a place to call home in our province.

Thank you very much, Speaker, and congratulations to you. It’s good to see you in that chair. I also want to thank the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for sharing his time with me today and, of course, the amazing parliamentary assistant, who we’ll hear from later on.

It really is a pleasure to stand here in this House to talk about the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, an act designed to empower our municipal partners with the tools they need to get more homes built faster.

Ontario is in a housing crisis. Too many families are being priced out of the housing market, and too many Ontarians have given up on the dream of home ownership. Core to the Ontario dream is having the opportunity to work hard, build your career, and raise your family in the community of your choice. We must renew the promise of unbounded potential each person has in this province. We must ensure that Ontario remains a place of opportunity and prosperity, and to do that, we must ensure everyone has a place to call home.

The Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act is one of the many bold actions the government of Ontario is taking to address the housing supply crisis, and we’re not slowing down. There is no idea too ambitious, no solutions to the housing shortage too daring, because in Ontario, it is all hands on deck to get more homes built.

In May 2019, our government announced More Homes, More Choice, our first housing supply action plan. The plan included a full spectrum of legislative changes designed to increase the supply of housing: affordable housing, attainable housing and housing that provides buyers and renters with more meaningful choices on where to work, where to live and where they can raise their families. This plan cut red tape and made it easier to build the right types of homes in the right places.

The More Homes, More Choice Act was a far-reaching omnibus piece of legislation that changed the Conservation Authorities Act, the Development Charges Act, the Education Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Environmental Assessment Act, Environmental Protection Act, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Ontario Heritage Act and the Planning Act. It took a multi-layered approach so we could help get much-needed homes built more quickly. From home ownership to rental housing, whether built by private developers or non-profits, our first action plan and its accompanying legislation helped to give people more choice. It aimed to make housing more affordable and helped taxpayers keep more of their hard-earned dollars in their pockets.

Speaker, we reviewed every step of the development process, every policy and every regulation. We did that to eliminate any unnecessary steps, any duplication and any barriers. We cut red tape while at the same time delivering on our commitment to ensure the health and safety of Ontario. We stayed true to our commitment to protect the environment, we remained a steadfast guardian of Ontario’s agricultural lands and we continue to be the steward of the province’s rich natural heritage.

Our work is producing results. The province’s first-ever housing supply action plan has been an overwhelming success. In 2021, Ontario broke ground on a record number of new homes being built, with more than 100,000 new homes in only 12 months. That’s the highest level of new housing starts in a single year since 1987. And there’s more: Last year, Ontario reached a 30-year record for rental housing construction starts in the province—again, the most units being built in a single year since 1991.

We knew that addressing the housing crisis needs a long-term strategy; it needs a long-term commitment and collaboration at all levels of government. With that in mind, our government continued to take action. In December, our government created the Housing Affordability Task Force, which was made up of industry leaders and experts, to recommend additional measures to increase the supply of market housing. As the task force stated at the beginning of its report, “For many years, the province has not built enough housing to meet the needs of our growing population.” The task force noted that many “efforts to cool the housing market have only provided temporary relief to home buyers.” They said, “The long-term trend is clear: House prices are increasing much faster than Ontarians’ incomes.” They stated that “the time for action is now,” that there’s no time for delays and that the province simply cannot afford to get it wrong.

We firmly agree, which is why, at around the same time, we convened with our municipal partners at both the Ontario-Municipal Summit and at the rural housing round table to gather their expert advice. We listened to Ontarians through over 2,000 public consultation submissions. We knew that through collaborating with our partners and the housing sector, we’d be on track to get more homes built.

However, despite the gains that we have made over the past four years, we know that there’s still a shortage of housing. Rental housing and affordable home ownership are even further out of reach for hard-working Ontarians. Just to illustrate the problem, for every month that approvals are delayed, anywhere between $2,000 and $3,000 is added to the cost to build a single-family home or a condominium unit in the greater Toronto area. It became clear that without an increase in housing supply to match the rising demand, housing prices will keep going up and affordability will worsen.

We took all the information we gained from our many consultations and created our second housing supply action plan, called More Homes for Everyone, which was launched earlier this year, thanks to the great work of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. More Homes for Everyone outlines the next steps we’re taking to address Ontario’s housing crisis—steps such as accelerating approval timelines, reducing red tape and protecting homebuyers from unethical business practices. For example, we made changes to provide incentives for municipalities to make decisions in an expeditious manner on zoning and site plan applications. Effective January 1 of next year, if a municipality does not make a decision within the legislated timelines, the municipality will be required to gradually refund the application fee to the applicant.

We also made changes to the Development Charges Act and the Planning Act to increase the transparency and certainty of development-related costs. The changes we made to the Development Charges Act now require municipalities with a development charge bylaw to make their annual reporting on these charges available to the public on the municipality’s website. While many municipalities already make reporting publicly accessible, these changes will increase transparency across the municipal sector.

We also changed the Planning Act to require any municipality with a community benefits charge bylaw to publicly consult and complete a review of that bylaw at least once every five years. After the review, the municipality must pass a council resolution to indicate whether any changes are needed to that bylaw. If this is not done, the community benefit charge bylaw in that municipality expires.

We also took further steps to make it easier to build transit-oriented communities. As many members of this House will recall, transit-oriented communities are our government’s vision for higher-density, mixed-use developments that are next to, or within a short walk of, transit stations and stops.

We have set out and standardized, under the Planning Act, how much parkland, or cash in lieu of land, municipalities can collect for developments in transit-oriented communities. We see this change as balancing the priority for building new housing and transit-oriented communities quickly, while continuing to create more parks. Our government is moving quickly to take every step we can to help support the construction of more homes in the province for hard-working Ontarians.

Minister Clark has mentioned that there are regulations to help bring this piece of legislation into force. For example, while our proposed legislative changes to the City of Toronto Act would empower the mayor of Toronto, the changes to the Municipal Act would need to be supported by a regulation to also empower the mayor of Ottawa.

When our government looks at potential similar changes for other growing municipalities that are also shovel-ready, committed to growth and cutting red tape, we would also use this regulation to designate what municipalities these new mayoral powers would also apply to.

Minister Clark has spoken to how, if passed, these changes would allow mayors to create new committees and appoint the chairs and vice-chairs of identified committees and local boards. Based on the unique needs of individual municipalities, our government would again use these regulations to identify what committees and local boards these powers would pertain to.

We also plan on making accompanying regulations to set out current provincial priorities. These priorities would include our commitment to help build 1.5 million new homes in 10 years to address the housing supply crisis. But homes, as I’ve said many, many times, aren’t just four walls and a roof. They’re where we raise our families; they’re where we create our fondest memories. For that to happen, we need to build our homes in strong communities. That’s why another provincial priority will focus on the planning, approval, construction and maintenance of key infrastructure, infrastructure such as transit and roads so residents don’t have to wait in gridlock, and for utilities such as water and waste water—all to support both new and existing residential development.

I also want to note that if there is any perceived abuse of these new governance tools, the regulation-making authority could be used to impose limits and conditions on the use of the proposed mayoral powers to hold heads of council accountable.

We did not take the development of our strong-mayors proposal lightly. We did our homework; we studied best practices from around the world and ensured the legislation will meet the test of time. We have looked at other cities that provide mayors with executive powers. We looked at cities like New York, Chicago, London, Los Angeles and Paris where strong-mayor systems work and are successful. The mayors of these cities have strengthened roles and additional administrative and executive powers. They have extra powers in developing budgets, and some have the opportunity to veto certain items.

Let’s take a look at what some of these cities are doing. In New York City, the mayor acts as a chief executive officer and does not sit as a member of council. It’s important to note here that if our proposed legislation is passed, a mayor would still sit on council and every council member would still have one vote.

However, similar to what we are proposing, the mayor of New York City may appoint and remove heads of administrations, departments and commissioners and all other non-elected officers except as otherwise provided in law. Also, the mayor of New York City has the power to create or abolish departments or positions within the mayor’s office. The mayor of New York City develops the budget and any accompanying financial plans and submits them to council for consideration and approval. And the mayor of New York City can veto any council decision to add to, increase or place terms on budget items. There is, of course, the check and balance that council can override a mayoral veto related to the budget with a two-thirds majority vote.

Now let’s look at Chicago. Just like in New York City, the mayor of Chicago is the chief executive officer of the city and does not sit on the council. However, unlike New York City, the Chicago mayor must obtain council consent to appoint and remove heads of all city departments and officers of the municipality, all commissions, all boards and all agencies, except as otherwise provided in the law. As in New York City and as proposed by our bill, the mayor of Chicago directs the city’s budget process and submits the city’s annual budget to council for consideration and approval.

Now let’s go out west and look at Los Angeles. Again, the mayor of Los Angeles is the chief executive officer of the city and does not have a seat on council. The mayor of Los Angeles has the power to create or abolish bureaus, divisions or positions within the executive office of the mayor, including having the power to remove certain city officials. Just like in New York, just like in Chicago and just like in our proposed legislation, the mayor of Los Angeles directs the budget and sends it to council for approval. The mayor can veto any changes or additions council makes, and, in turn, council can override a mayoral veto with a two-thirds majority vote.

These strong-mayor systems support the needs of these growing communities, just as similar systems can support the needs of the growing communities in Toronto and in Ottawa.

We know that building more homes that people can afford is a priority for everyone right across the province. From the headlines of newspapers to the conversations we all hear at our hockey rinks, soccer fields or coffee shops, we know that Ontarians care about living in a province where they can find a place to live, where the dream of home ownership is alive and well for them and their children.

There is no doubt that housing affordability will be top of mind for voters in this fall’s municipal election. We have heard candidates underline what their municipality needs to do to increase housing supply. We have heard from voters, both with well-paying jobs and those who might be having difficulty making ends meet, talking about the fact that they are unable to find attainable housing. Whether they’re looking for a place to call home in urban city centres or in suburban communities across the province, we hear about the struggles families are facing.

This is all because of a lack of housing in the housing market. This has to change. With this piece of legislation, combined with all the other bold solutions our government is taking action on, we’re ensuring that it does.

Both the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and I have mentioned some of the other housing supply-related initiatives our government has put in place. From our action plans to convening experts to weigh in on the best ways to increase housing supply to engaging with both the public and municipalities on crucial matters, we stand before our honourable colleagues here today to share with you that the proposed Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act is one more step that our government is taking to help address the current housing shortfall.

As the minister has said before, solving the housing crisis is a long-term process that requires a long-term commitment and collaboration from all levels of government. It is a huge challenge that Ontario faces. It’s a defining issue of our time. I know that there is a challenge here, but I know that we can overcome this challenge by working with all our partners, because how we as elected officials choose to tackle the housing crisis will dictate whether an entire next generation can break into the housing market. Ontarians are counting on us to get this right, and failure is simply not an option. We will meet this challenge and get homes built, and we will do it by working together with our municipal partners.

The proposed Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act focuses on partnership. The proposed legislation is built on the fact that our government trusts Ontarians to elect the right local leaders. Strong-mayor systems are intended to empower municipal leaders to work more effectively with the province to reduce timelines for development, to standardize processes and address local barriers to increasing the housing supply. That’s why Ontario will continue to provide the tools so that municipalities can, in fact, increase the housing supply—the tools they need to break through the logjams that have historically slowed the speed of housing construction, the tools that would enhance authorities for the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa. We propose to give these mayors more responsibility to help deliver on our shared provincial-municipal priorities, including our commitment to build 1.5 million new homes over the next 10 years.

The reality is that over one third of Ontario’s growth in the next decade is expected to take place in Toronto and in Ottawa. Queen’s Park cannot tackle the housing challenge on its own. It requires all our partners to pitch in and help us get the job done. We are counting on these mayors to cut red tape and get housing built faster so more families can realize the dream of attainable home ownership. That’s our mission. That’s our job. That’s why we’re here. We’re not going to leave anyone behind, Speaker. We’re going to make sure everyone has a place to call home. Ontarians, as I said before, are counting on us, and we won’t let them down.

I now hand the floor over to the parliamentary assistant of municipal affairs and housing, my honourable colleague from Thunder Bay–Atikokan, to further elaborate on this bill. Thank you very much for the opportunity.

I want to thank the member for the question and congratulate him on his election to the people’s House.

Ontarians are facing the rising cost of living and certainly a shortage of homes. Our government was re-elected with a strong mandate to help more Ontarians find more homes that meet their needs and their budgets.

We all know that Ontario accounts for two thirds of the population growth in Canada. That’s why, under our ambitious plan, our government will build 1.5 million new homes over the next 10 years to keep costs down and make life more affordable for all Ontarians. We’re also speeding up the approval process while implementing recommendations from the Housing Affordability Task Force. The steps that our government is taking are working. Over 100,000 homes have been built in 2021—and more than 13,000 new rental starts here in the province of Ontario; that’s the highest in over 30 years.

Speaker, next week I’m heading over to AMO in Ottawa to be able to continue collaboration with our municipal governments.

Our government’s policies have delivered historic results in getting more housing built faster, and they certainly complement our more than $4.3-billion investments over three years to grow and enhance community and supportive housing for vulnerable Ontarians and Indigenous peoples, address homelessness and respond to COVID-19.

The More Homes for Everyone plan, launched in March 2022, outlines the next steps we’re taking to address Ontario’s housing crisis, such as accelerating approval timelines and protecting homebuyers from unethical business practices. For example, changes were made to provide an incentive for municipalities to make decisions in a timely manner on zoning and site plan applications. Effective January 1, 2023, if a municipality does not make a decision within the legislated timeline, they would be required to gradually refund the application fee to the applicant. Municipalities could avoid lost revenues by improving processes to support timely decisions.

We remain steadfast—