I want to thank my honourable colleague the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for sharing his time with me today. I will also be sharing the remaining time we have for second reading with the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the ever all-star MPP for Thunder Bay–Atikokan.

Interjections.

Speaker, I’m proud to speak to our government’s proposed Better Municipal Governance Act. It is a bill that is necessary, a bill that is timely, and a bill that would, if passed, be yet another step forward in solving Ontario’s housing crisis.

As the recent municipal election showed, the housing shortage Ontario is facing is at the top of people’s minds in communities right across the province. With many stakeholders pointing out the importance of getting municipal governance right, we need to make sure red tape does not block the housing we need so desperately. Study after study and expert after expert shows us that Ontario is in a housing crisis.

As an example, Kevin Crigger, the president of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, said, “Housing affordability is one of the most significant issues facing the greater Toronto area, so it is important that it continues to be given the attention it deserves before municipal election day.”

As a member representing parts of the GTA, I can attest to how important the housing supply crisis is to my constituents, many of whom are struggling to find a home they can afford. I have heard time and again about how young people are looking to get into the housing market but simply can’t afford it, because they have to balance between saving money and putting a down payment towards a new purchase at the same time—or newcomers to the province who are ready to settle down with their families and plant roots in Ontario but find the lack of available housing a major challenge. When I think about who our government is working for and why we have made tackling the housing supply crisis such a priority, I think about these people, the ones who are only asking for the same opportunity of home ownership that the previous generation has had. We made them a promise that we would put their dream of home ownership back within reach, and as I’ve said time and time again, we’re not going to let them down.

More than one third of Ontario’s growth over the next decade is expected to happen in Toronto and in Ottawa. That’s why we need to take action to ensure that there’s no political delay in hindering the potential that these cities offer. We need the mayors in these municipalities to cut red tape and get housing built faster so more families can realize the dream of attainable home ownership.

Developers and urban planners tell us all the time that the current way projects are approved in Ontario takes far too long and is way too complex. It can take eight to 10 years to go from acquiring undeveloped land to building housing, according to David Amborski, director of the Centre for Urban Research and Land Development at Toronto Metropolitan University. Builders need to obtain multiple approvals, which can take months, if not years, as various government departments conduct reviews and request revisions to meet planning requirements.

Speaker, a 2022 survey by the Canadian Home Builders’ Association looked at the time it takes to secure development approvals in 23 Canadian cities. The survey cited Hamilton, Toronto and Ottawa as having some of the longest timelines across Canada, ranging from 20 to 24 months, and that’s without even including the time it takes to get a building permit. A follow-up study by the association which was released this past September found that approval times for most greater Toronto area municipalities have only worsened in the years since. Ontarians are counting on us to fix that. Once again, I want to be very clear that we’re not going to let them down.

Ontarians were clear, in the last election, that they want us to take bold actions to increase the housing supply.

And let’s not forget, the recent federal announcement to increase immigration targets will bring in 500,000 newcomers by 2025. As the Premier has said, it is anticipated that some 300,000 of those newcomers will hope to settle right here in Ontario. That adds to the urgency of our bill and makes it clear why it’s so important that we put forward policies that will help us build more homes and build them faster.

If passed, the Better Municipal Governance Act will add to the powers that our Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act gives to the mayors of both Ottawa and Toronto. As the mayors of Ottawa and Toronto begin their new terms of office, they will soon have more powers to break the cycle of delays in the municipal approvals process.

Speaker, this bill builds on the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, which was given royal assent just a few short weeks ago. That act and the associated regulations provide the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa with additional governance tools and increased powers to align municipal decision-making with provincial priorities. They empower the mayors of Ottawa and Toronto to build a team that would help bring forward shared municipal and provincial priorities, which will mean that mayors can use their new powers to get shovels in the ground faster for more housing, and that they can get shovels in the ground faster for the infrastructure that would support more residential developments.

Now I want to focus on the specifics of how the mayors of both Toronto and Ottawa will be able to do this. First, the act changes the City of Toronto Act to empower the mayor of Toronto, and it changes the Municipal Act, along with the supporting regulation, to empower the mayor of Ottawa. The act also outlines the tools that these mayors could access to take decisive action on our shared priorities.

The Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act gives the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa the power to hire and fire the chief administrative officer of the municipality and certain department heads. However, this does not include positions such as the clerk, the treasurer, the integrity commissioner, the chief of police, the chief building official, the medical officer of health and others set out in the legislation. In addition, the mayors of Ottawa and Toronto will have the power to create and reorganize departments in their cities so they can better address the needs of their communities. As well, the mayors can appoint the chairs and vice-chairs of identified committees and local boards and can also establish identified committees, and they will be able to direct staff to prepare proposals to support them in furthering provincial priorities.

The Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act gives the mayors of Ottawa and Toronto the ability to deliver the budget of their municipality and table it for council to consider. The respective municipal council can then propose changes to the budget if it chooses to do so. An important new power for the mayors is that these amendments would then be subject to a mayor’s veto. The system of checks and balances that we’ve built into the legislation would keep councillors engaged in the process of local government so that they can provide an important restraint on their respective mayors. Let me explain how that would work.

The municipal council of Ottawa and Toronto would be able to override the mayor’s veto of council amendments to the budget with a two-thirds majority vote. This can be done within a certain time period. Once that period of time is up, the municipality would have adopted the resulting budget. There is a similar veto-override system with regard to bylaws passed by council. A mayor can use their veto power if they are of the opinion that all or part of a bylaw passed by council could potentially interfere with a provincial priority, as identified in regulation. This could be a provincial priority such as building more housing for Ontarians—or if the bylaw prevented infrastructure needed for more homes from being built.

Speaker, as you can see, the council-override process is a counterweight in this instance. Similar to their power in regard to the budget amendments, Ottawa and Toronto councils can override a mayoral veto of bylaws related to provincial priorities with a two-thirds majority vote.

I want to make one point clear: The mayor’s new ability to veto bylaws applies only to those that the mayor believes would potentially interfere with identified provincial priorities. Simply put, we trust Ontarians to elect the leaders who best reflect the needs and values of their communities. By extension, we trust those leaders to use these new powers fairly when it comes to driving our shared priorities forward. That’s why we’re holding them accountable for their choices. As an extension of these changes, mayors are required to provide written documentation when using any of these new powers in accordance with any associated regulations.

We also made changes to the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. First, the mayors of Ottawa and Toronto are now required to declare any financial interests related to the use of their new powers. They would not be able to use the new powers where financial conflict exists. It’s also important to remember that council members are already subject to legislated accountability and transparency rules, and that includes the mayor.

Another important point I’d like to raise is that because of these new increased powers for mayors, we must ensure that voters will be able to have their say if a mayor leaves office earlier than expected. That is why a by-election is required to replace a mayor with these increased powers if the office becomes vacant. That’s distinct from the current practice in Ottawa and Toronto, or any other Ontario municipality, which is to give the council the choice of either a by-election or an appointment by council, and the existing rules for how by-elections are run would still apply.

This does not impact the flexibility that Ottawa and Toronto currently have in deciding how to fill other vacant council seats. In those cases, they still have the choice to appoint someone or, in fact, have a by-election.

Speaker, as I’ve mentioned, some of these changes to empower the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa pertain to matters of provincial priority. These provincial priorities are set out in the supporting regulations. Now I’d like to highlight what these proposed provincial priorities are.

One priority is our government’s commitment to keeping costs down and building 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years, to address the housing supply crisis. When we build more homes, we also need to consider the infrastructure that will support them.

Another provincial priority would speed up the planning, approval, construction and maintenance of infrastructure to support new and existing residential developments. This is the infrastructure that you use every day, the things that we don’t often think about but that we require. Actioning the expansion, construction and maintenance of these services is essential, and we will work to eliminate any barriers or delays that are in the way. This will help us lay the foundation for building homes now and into the future.

As well, another provincial priority involves transit-oriented communities. These are the higher-density mixed-use developments that are next to or within a short walk of transit stations and stops.

The bill we’re discussing today, the proposed Better Municipal Governance Act, will help us build on and further support the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act in meeting the provincial priority to build 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years.

Additionally, we are proposing changes that would enable the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa to propose bylaws related to the provincial priorities that we have set out. These bylaws would be passed if more than one third of the members of council vote in favour of the bylaw, and existing municipal accountability frameworks will continue to apply, including conflict-of-interest rules. As well, heads of council would also be required to provide their rationale when using the proposed powers.

If passed, the proposed legislation would allow the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to make regulations that establish the rules for the use of this new mayoral bylaw power. For example, the minister could impose limits and conditions or set out procedural rules for proposing a bylaw.

There is no doubt that these proposals seem bold, but that’s because our government promised bold action to end the housing supply crisis and to help all Ontarians find a safe place to call home.

Speaker, I began today by saying that our proposed Better Municipal Governance Act is necessary, is timely and, if passed, would be another solid step forward in addressing Ontario’s undersupply of housing. Giving strong mayors this enhanced power would allow them to remove barriers and find solutions for the housing supply shortages, and would make them true partners in addressing the housing crisis.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. I want to thank the Premier. I want to thank the parliamentary assistant to municipal affairs and housing, and every member of our caucus for all the work and the attention that they’re giving to making sure that every person in this province has a home to go to every night.

As the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing has highlighted on multiple occasions in this chamber, we are in a housing crisis, one that requires bold actions, because we cannot simply leave the people of this province behind. We saw what 15 years of neglect has done to where we are here today.

Through the actions of this minister, since 2018—we saw the results last year: more housing starts than we’ve had since 1987; purpose-built rentals, 13,000 of them in the province, again, highest since 1991. These are 30-year record highs. But they’re not enough. We need to do more, because we cannot let the current generations, future generations—you think about the 500,000 new Canadians who are coming in with hopes and dreams and aspirations, like my family did when they came to Canada. This minister, our government, our Premier, has said on many occasions that letting them down is not an option. We will fight for them every single day to make sure that they have a chance at attainable home ownership.

With that, I would now like to call upon the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to further expand on the very necessary piece of proposed legislation, because, as a former mayor himself, I know that his insights into the legislation will make an important contribution to today’s debate.

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.