I do appreciate this opportunity to participate in second reading debate this afternoon of Bill 185, Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act.

As the minister and my colleagues have made very clear, this spring red tape reduction package follows on the tremendous progress made by our government to reduce regulatory burden to better serve the citizens of Ontario.

Over the past four years, this government’s efforts to reduce the burden of red tape has saved Ontario businesses and the broader public sector over $958 million in gross annualized compliance costs and have helped create the conditions for people and businesses to thrive. I believe all members of this House will agree then that this proposed legislation makes great strides and will continue to have a profound, positive impact as we work hand in hand to build Ontario’s bright future tomorrow and to do it together.

Our new proposed legislation aligns strongly with this government’s excellent record of common-sense changes that help hard-working Ontarians.

Speaker, I am proud of the work being done day in and day out across our government and within my ministry, the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery, to fulfill our mandate to the people of this province.

On December 4 of last year, this House unanimously passed a landmark piece of legislation, the Better for Consumers, Better for Businesses Act, 2023. The new Consumer Protection Act, once enforced, will make it easier for businesses to comply with consumer protection rules in our increasingly digital-first marketplace.

Furthermore, earlier this year on February 22, the Building Infrastructure Safely Act, 2024, was passed by this House, also unanimously. This prohibits underground infrastructure owners and operators from charging fees for locates. Now, providing locates free of charge is consistent, of course, with a long-standing practice that exists across Canada and the United States, and increases public safety while minimizing damage to critical infrastructure from the construction process.

These are just a couple of examples of how the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery continues to update legislation and regulations and takes concrete action to enable the citizens and the residents of Ontario to thrive while our businesses prosper.

Reducing red tape is a key part of building a stronger economy, and under the leadership of the Premier, we are continuing to bring forward additional packages that are saving businesses costs and time and reducing burden.

I would like to provide an overview of the initiatives that the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery is proposing in this package. Our government is putting Ontarians first by making it easier and more convenient for businesses to find the information they need to operate across Ontario.

For decades, Ontario businesses have been frustrated by red tape and drawn-out processes. They called for better access to the information they need when they need it. Consistent and predictable timelines are needed to plan projects and to ensure success. We have heard from Ontario business owners who face difficulties in finding information online about permit and licence services as well as the timelines for obtaining these items.

That is why, two years ago, our government, in the 42nd Parliament, introduced, and this House passed, the At Your Service Act, 2022. That was part of that year’s spring red tape reduction package.

The act established a single website to access authoritative information and services that businesses need to become both functional and successful. Through the Ontario.ca/business website, our government is making it easier to both start and to grow a business.

This resource was the first step toward creating a single window for businesses, reducing the administrative burdens for business owners and for not-for-profits. By taking the confusion out of completing necessary paperwork and permits, we have enabled entrepreneurs to better focus on growing our economy and serving our communities. We are working together with businesses to continuously improve the website so that Ontario businesses can focus on what matters, and that is starting, running and growing their operations, creating well-paying jobs and spurring our communities forward to success.

Our vision is to provide a best-in-class online experience. This is for businesses and for entrepreneurs. This is the goal rather than what we have had in the past: fragmented experiences that businesses cannot cope with and should not have to cope with. Businesses should be able to easily navigate multiple websites across ministries. While this is a work in progress, we are continuously taking important steps to make it a reality.

The At Your Service Act, 2022, set the stage to provide businesses with realistic public-facing service standards for various approvals, permits and licences, with services added on a regular basis. It confirms once again that this government is constantly focused on business growth in Ontario. Business growth in Ontario and the conditions that create it are what lead to more jobs, better-paying jobs, prosperity for all and revenue to fund core public services such as health care, education and social services and the ability to make investments in the future to build Ontario.

That is why the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery is proposing a regulation under the At Your Service Act, 2022, to require ministries to develop service standards for permits and licence services delivered to businesses and to report on those standards publicly, thus improving transparency and accountability.

Having a clear understanding of the length of time it takes to obtain permits and licences would help Ontario businesses understand how long they can expect to wait for a decision about a permit or licence they need to get to work and to plan accordingly. This government is committed to reducing administrative burdens for those seeking permits, for those seeking licences and for any information that is sought with respect to any other type of government approval. This government seeks to improve the overall user experience so, again, businesses are able to get down to work, to be successful and to make plans accordingly in a rapid fashion.

Updating service standards for permits and licences would help businesses plan and be more efficient so that they can spend more time on their priorities and spend less time navigating through red tape. Fundamentally, then, business initiatives should never be hampered by government backlog or government uncertainty.

Speaker, Ontario is open for business under this government. We need to support and ease burdens that stifle those building Ontario’s future. For far too long, ambitious projects have been stalled by delay after delay while entrepreneurs attempt to secure permits with little to no clarity on timelines. This is unacceptable. There must be transparency and clear public communications regarding service standards for permits and licences delivered to businesses. Accountability built on clear outcome-based performance measures is essential to the government playing its role to foster competitiveness and growth throughout Ontario.

As part of this single-window approach, we are also working on our evolving permit tracker which will allow businesses to track the status of their applications, starting with select high-volume services for the Ministry of Transportation. Those permits are related to highway corridor management permitting, including sign, entrance, encroachment and building and land use permits that are required on Ontario highways across the province. We will provide easy-to-use information online about the status of permits, applications and filings.

Speaker, this government has listened to the feedback that Ontario businesses have provided, and we are providing tools and transparency so that businesses understand how long they can expect to wait for a decision about a permit or a licence that is needed. The setting of business standards, together with the permit tracker, are crucial steps in our ongoing efforts to establish a one-window-for-business approach. That one-window-for-business approach must be the way forward to working with government in order to reduce administrative burdens and end uncertainty and unnecessary delays. This is the way forward to achieving our priorities for the future and to empower digital government through best practices.

We will continue to work tirelessly to provide an integrated digital experience that will make it easier for businesses to access the information and the services they need to get up and running, create new jobs, grow their businesses and grow the economy as a whole, while supporting essential government services with the revenue that all of that generates. That’s what we mean when we say that a Progressive Conservative government, led by this Premier, creates the conditions for success all around, both in the private and the public sector.

And I would like to highlight another way this government, under the leadership of the Premier, is improving services with standardized and streamlining processes: modernizing the administration of transfer payments to improve service delivery. The Transfer Payment Ontario system, or TPON, is the single digital enterprise-wide platform for administering transfer payments by the Ontario public service. Payment systems currently used run across 26 ministries, and these administer annual program funding of over $12 billion.

This helps to ensure a common approach to transfer payment programming, and it simplifies program administration by streamlining access to funding and by reducing the administrative burden for recipients. The Transfer Payment Ontario system eliminates duplication and eliminates unnecessary reporting requirements for transfer payment recipients, but it also improves user experience and makes it easier for people and organizations to interact with government.

Now, another change regarding streamlining our government’s cash flow is our proposal for a regulation that would allow us to accept modern forms of payment from debtors who may owe money to the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund, MVACF. My colleagues may know that the MVACF is the payer of last resort in the context of uninsured motorist claims in the province of Ontario. If one is involved in a car accident where no private automobile insurance is available to respond to the claim, that person may be eligible for compensation from MVACF, or the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund. When MVACF pays a claim on behalf of an uninsured driver or vehicle owner, the fund obtains a judgment against that uninsured party.

After all, under the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act, it is required by law to have insurance; all motorists must do so. Of course, it’s an offence when there is no insurance in place. But the reality is, those who are injured by or harmed by such a motorist—uninsured and in breach of the law—their remedy would not be available, in terms of compensation, if there was no other backup funding; hence the payer of last resort, MVACF. So the party against whom a judgment has been obtained, because that party is uninsured, becomes a judgment debtor to the province. The judgment debtor is then required to pay MVACF back for the value of the judgment, which, at a maximum, could be as much as $200,000 plus legal costs. The current regulation requires that the payment can only be made by cash, bank drafts or money orders. We are proposing, by a proposed regulation, to expand this to include digital forms of payment. This is the sort of common-sense modernization effort that my ministry continues to move across the finish line.

I would like to take a moment to speak about an announcement in January of this year that relates to our mission of finding ways to make processes much easier for all Ontarians.

The tragic legacy of Indian residential schools continues to be a tremendous source of pain and suffering within Indigenous communities. We can never forget that more than 150,000 Indigenous children were removed from their families and their communities and sent to Indian residential schools between 1870 and 1996.

This government has been working tirelessly with Indigenous partners to support meaningful reconciliation and a broader understanding of the legacy of residential schools. To date, our government has committed millions to support the identification, investigation, protection, and commemoration of burials at former residential schools across our province. This commitment was taken even further with an additional $25-million allocation announced in the 2023 budget. The funding will provide resources for community coordinators, researchers and technical experts to engage with survivors, mental health supports, archival analysis, and deployment of ground-scanning technologies.

As we continue to advance meaningful reconciliation, the province is also making it easier and more affordable for Indigenous community members to access both services and records. We now have a streamlined process that eliminates the need to request death searches from two offices—that’s the Archives of Ontario and ServiceOntario’s Office of the Registrar General. As part of this process, it is this government that is providing financial relief for impacted Indigenous communities; that is, fees are being permanently waived for death registration searches, death certificates, and certified copies of death registrations. Fees are also being waived for a delayed registration of death for children who attended Indian residential schools.

We are also removing fees to support residential school survivors and their families who are seeking to reclaim traditional names that were changed by this archaic system. This initiative was one of the 94 calls to action put forward by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and it is fully supported by this government and, indeed, I believe, by every member of this House.

We are also making it easier for Indigenous persons changing their name to a single name to reflect their traditional culture, including on birth and marriage certificates, at no cost.

Ontario was the first jurisdiction in Canada to explicitly allow for a birth to be registered with a single name or for a person to change their name to a single name.

This is our commitment—just one of many demonstrable commitments to meaningful reconciliation.

The Archives of Ontario is the primary source of information about the history of our province, and I’m also proud to say that it is the largest one of its kind in Canada, and I’m proud that York University is building and has built and maintained a pristine facility that plays host to all of those important documents that pertain to the history of our province.

Since 1903, the archives has collected, preserved and made available documents that are available and essential for educational purposes and historic purposes. The staff are second to none in ensuring that records that date back to the 16th century, and that include handwritten letters, books, maps, architectural drawings, photographs, artwork, films and sound recordings, electronic documents and more—this leadership in record-keeping, access and privacy to the public service, provincial agencies and the broader public sector is essential.

There has been a fee for the archive facilities of $6,300 for third-party vendors to film. This inhibited filmmakers. We propose to abolish it, and that is because these organizations may not have the financial means to cover such a substantial fee. We’re eliminating that fee—or we propose to do so. We want encourage filmmakers and organizations who wish to develop content inside of the Archives of Ontario to do so.

These are practical measures that reduce burden, that reduce cost, that reduce red tape and regulation, and this is one of a series of bills that this government has introduced to this House. We encourage all members listening and those who will vote on this at some stage in the near future to support this bill for its practical effect, for its widespread effect and for the fact that it helps to create a better province for all.

The member for University–Rosedale speaks of the fact that she admits that there is a housing supply crisis, a housing affordability crisis, that we need to be on target for building 1.5 million homes. Yet, she sits among members who supported the previous Liberal government in the 40th Parliament.

Steve Del Duca, the current mayor of Vaughan, has admitted that that housing affordability crisis of which the member speaks began under the Liberal government. It began when the member for Waterloo arrived with the mayor for Vaughan. They arrived together in 2012, and in 2012, 2013 and 2014, the NDP and the Liberals were together politically. They had the political will to do something, and they did nothing.

Will the member opposite, the member for University–Rosedale—now having admitted the housing affordability crisis, knowing that this goes back to the NDP supporting the Liberals—support this bill and engage in forward thinking for the good of Ontario?

I thank the member for Humber River–Black Creek for the question. Our government understands that the purchase of a home, particularly a first home, is one of the most important transactions that any of our citizens can engage in in their entire lives. That is why we work closely in my ministry with two of the 12 administrative authorities that are devoted to consumer protection when it comes to new home purchases. That’s the Home Construction Regulatory Authority and Tarion.

Tarion provides deposit protection so that consumers can get their deposits back, despite the illegal activities of some home builders. We continue to work closely with Tarion to ensure that Ontarians get the very best protections when they’re spending their hard-earned money in our great province.

Contrary to years of weak consumer protection by the former Liberal government, we have beefed up protections for consumers with Ontario’s new home warranty protection program.

The system works. The Home Construction Regulatory Authority acted on this matter, in particular Mariman Homes—and let’s call that out, because it’s a public matter. HCRA suspended the licence of that organization on December 5, 2023, citing in the proposal that what occurred there was illegal, or without proper authorization, building and selling. Reinstatement of that licence is contingent on proof to HCRA that there has been compliance with legal obligations with the capability of fulfilling obligations to consumers by June 30, 2024. The system works.

I can’t imagine the member opposite is reading the same budget bill that I’ve been reading or listening to some of the comments from the Minister of Finance and others in support of the bill. Indigenous communities are very much a centrepiece of this budget bill. We’re investigating residential school burial sites. We are making investments in the Ring of Fire and continuing to work with First Nations and industry on key Ring of Fire projects. We’re supporting racialized and Indigenous communities and businesses by investing $50 million over three years in the RAISE Grant program. We’re providing rapid training through micro-credentials and addressing homelessness—and this was just addressed today—through supportive housing, and that is the Homelessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program.

I can’t even get all of the aspects of this that support Indigenous communities into this short answer, but I do encourage the member opposite to read the bill.

That toll-free approach is exactly why we also removed the tolls from 412 and 418—and in my riding, 418 in particular. It affects driver behaviour. It has reduced gridlock significantly because those tolls aren’t there anymore. That’s what it’s about, Speaker.

I can tell you that I hear about it in my own community. Autism Home Base is a hub for adult autistic young people, and they are very much applauding this budget and all of the measures that we’ve introduced to enhance support for autistic families, whether the children be under the age of 18 or over the age of 18. We have to focus on all of them because they have different needs at different ages, and I can speak from experience on behalf of my son, Jake.

I’m proud of this government’s record and its plan of action to support autistic citizens and their families.

I thank the member for his heartfelt comments on behalf of his riding and community. It’s very important that we listen and learn.

I want to ask, specific to the bill that we are debating, Bill 85, budget 2023: Will he and his colleagues in His Majesty’s official opposition support the increase in the investment in homelessness prevention and the Indigenous Supportive Housing Program, which is proposed to be over $200 million annually, to give more people a safe place to call home?

Thank you to the member for Elgin–Middlesex–London. I have just one word in the name of my riding, but my colleague has three. I think I pronounced it right; I hope I did, Madam Speaker.

My colleague talks of the dream of home ownership. He, like me, listens—his question suggests that he listens very carefully—to his fellow citizens in his community. His question suggests that he will be supporting this bill, and I thank him for that. I completely endorse his endorsement of doing this. He knows, as I do, that this is not just about first-time homebuyers; it’s also about those who want to downsize or go to a home in another community, to upsize, and for renters. That’s the important thing, and I know my honourable colleague recognizes that, as I do.

Interjection.

It is a pleasure to rise in the House this afternoon and join the debate on Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, and to speak to the importance and the urgency of moving forward to pass our government’s proposed legislation so that we can swiftly move to implement Ontario’s Plan to Build.

Speaker, this bill confirms this government’s commitment that was made to all Ontarians, a commitment to build 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years, and in the process help millions of Ontarians—new first-time buyers, those Ontarians wishing to upsize or downsize or rent—to achieve the dream of affordable home ownership.

Within this historic assembly, I offer a story from Ontario’s history in the post-World War II era. It is a story that can guide us as we address the current housing crisis. As Sir Winston Churchill once remarked, “A society that forgets its past has no future.” We can learn from history, even from historic anecdotes, when we seek to exercise our good judgment on the future.

On September 12, 1956, Frank and Susan Camisso achieved their dream of home ownership when they purchased a small suburban bungalow in the Sheppard and Victoria Park Avenue area of Toronto for just $16,500. While the priority for the Camissos in purchasing their property was focused on moving up to a new home from where they were, in a rental accommodation, and to accommodate their dream of being near schools and parks for their daughters, Irene and Alice, the greater significance of this purchase was that the Camisso family had purchased the millionth home built in Canada since the Second World War. Members of the provincial government at that time, then-Metro chairman Fred Gardiner, Scarborough reeve Gus Harris and many other dignitaries gathered to congratulate the young family at Lot 121 Beacham Crescent in the new Wishing Well Acres subdivision.

This milestone of one million homes built in the 10 years following World War II should guide us as we debate this plan to build 1.5 million new homes by 2032.

Now, while the population in 1956 for Canada was just 16 million, and 5.4 million in the province of Ontario, the post-war housing boom in Ontario was leading all of Canada because the Progressive Conservative Premier of Ontario at that time, Premier Leslie Frost, and his government made attainable housing a priority for all Ontarians at that time.

When we fast-forward in history to the early 2000s, where under the previous Liberal government housing supply in Ontario fell to crisis levels due to higher construction costs, developmental charges, burdensome regulation and red tape and, of course, reduced transfers to municipalities, government policy made a difference for the worse as a result of those policies.

The former Liberal government, propped up for one of its terms by the NDP, forgot a fundamental economic principle: When you reduce the supply of a good or commodity, you drive up the cost and the demand for that good or commodity. That is what we saw with housing in Ontario under the Liberals, aided and abetted by the NDP. Does that sound familiar? It probably does because, sadly, we are seeing history repeat itself at the federal level in terms of the NDP propping up a Liberal government, who themselves speak about affordable housing for all Canadians but fail to act.

We received an overwhelming mandate from the people of Ontario to act, and our government is taking bold action to get shovels and the ground and solve Ontario’s housing supply in the immediate and the long term. This government is committed to exploring measures that can be taken to increase supply and to make housing more attainable for Ontarians. Immigration to our province is on the rise, and people are choosing to work and live in Ontario, because our economic plan is producing an environment conducive to long-term economic growth and stability.

With that in mind, Speaker, new and existing Ontarians need houses to live in, and they need certainty. Over the past four years, this government has introduced several new initiatives under our first two housing supply action plans: More Homes, More Choice in 2019 and More Homes for Everyone in 2022. These have helped to substantially increase housing starts in recent years, but we know we need to do more to meet the 1.5-million-home target over the next 10 years by 2032. As well, this government is working on creating a new attainable home ownership program to drive development of attainable housing on surplus provincial government land, so whatever their budget, Ontarians can find a place to call their own.

Speaker, in Durham region alone, where my riding of Durham is located, we have had many residents coming from elsewhere in the GTA and southern Ontario and settling in north Oshawa, Courtice and Bowmanville. Thousands of new homes are presently being built in these new neighbourhoods, and these are the kinds of communities that people are looking to our government to lead on. In Durham region alone, there has been a 119% year-over-year increase in new housing starts, and that number is only going to rise should this House agree to the passage of this bill.

But words are not enough, Speaker; action must be taken. I had the opportunity to host a housing affordability round table recently in my riding, where I was joined by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the honourable member for Whitby. It was a very informative experience for all of us. We got a chance to listen and meet with Durham’s youth. We heard their concerns, their frustration, their anxiety associated with moving forward with their first housing purchase. Governments who have taken little to no action in comparison to what we have done so far were referenced by our young attendees. That round table definitely helped shape aspects of this bill.

I want to highlight one of our Durham youths who attended the round table. Kirsten Martinolich is a 23-year-old nurse, who, like thousands of her colleagues, answered the call to duty during the pandemic. She expressed her concerns and her frustration because she wants to be able to move out of her parents’ home. She tells us that even with a well- and fair-paying job as a nurse, she is unable to make that move at this time. We want to act for young Kirsten.

Speaking of nurses, I would be remiss, Speaker, if I didn’t mention the recent passing of my mother-in-law, Maureen Harrington Azzopardi. She herself was a 1957 graduate of the St. Michael’s Hospital School of Nursing here in Toronto.

We need to act for Kirsten and other young people. Bobby MacDonald of Port Perry, a newlywed, tells us of the nightmare of development charges associated with the development and building of a new home that he’s trying to bring about with his new bride. Will Hume, a third-year law student, wonders if he will be able to move from his brother’s apartment when he graduates from law school in 2023.

These are the concerns of young people in different situations. They have expressed it to us, and clearly the status quo, which some support, is no longer an acceptable option. We must take decisive action. Transformative change is never easy, but our government stands ready to make the necessary decisions that will improve Ontario’s housing sector and benefit all Ontarians in the short and long term.

Ontario is expected to grow by over two million people over the next 10 years, with 70% of those new residents settling in the greater Golden Horseshoe region. With previous governments not taking action on building homes, we not only have to play catch-up, but we also have to keep up with the expected population growth.

Within this bill, our government is proposing processes to encourage gentle intensification. This is going to be accomplished, we propose, by giving property owners the right to build additional units without lengthy planning approvals and without the unnecessary and excessive development charges.

Now, I want to expand on that last point, Speaker, as this issue is consistently raised in my riding among so many: the overregulation and red tape associated with housing. Let’s start with the development charges and fees. We know there is a growing consensus that rising fees and lengthy delays all over the province are driving up the cost of housing. In many cases, these fees have increased by as much as 36% over the past two years, and then the charges or the costs associated with these fees are obviously passed down to homebuyers and even renters, making it impossible for homebuyers or renters to plan and budget or to keep up.

This bill further proposes to eliminate unnecessary approvals and rules such as waiving site plan control for smaller developments, limiting third-party appeals and removing numerous unnecessary hurdles in the planning process. Our proposed plan also builds on the recently enacted Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, which empowers the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa to move quickly on shared provincial priorities, with construction of more housing at the top of the list.

We know the construction of more housing is critical if all Ontarians are to have a chance at attainable home ownership, and we trust that our municipal partners will work collaboratively with us to accomplish this goal. We want to help cities, towns and rural communities grow with a mix of home ownership and rental housing units. These must meet the needs of all Ontarians. It is not a one-size-fits-all option. We need to build more homes near transit hubs, update infrastructure and unlock innovative approaches to getting shovels in the ground faster.

There is a strong consensus that increasing fees are driving up the cost of housing without considering the impact fee increases have on tenants and future homeowners. We cannot stand idly by. Without action, housing prices will rise and affordability will worsen. These proposals, if passed, would reduce the cost of residential development by freezing and reducing future municipal development-related charges. Specific reductions in these charges for certain types of development, such as non-profit developments, and for particular types of units, such as affordable, attainable and rental housing, would increase the much-needed supply of these units in the province. The proposals would also improve cost certainty for home builders and provide greater transparency on the use of municipal development-related charges to the public.

At this time, when many Ontarians are struggling with the rising cost of living, we believe it is reasonable to consider how we can lower costs and make life more affordable for tenants and homeowners. Speaker, I know the opposition would like to make this a partisan issue, but I can assure you this is not. Every member of this House has thousands of constituents communicating to them their frustration with not being able to achieve the dream of home ownership or even rental because of factors beyond their control. With so many Ontarians struggling with the rising cost of living, our government believes this bill takes reasonable and necessary steps to lower the cost of home ownership and make life more affordable for all.

I urge all members of this House to say yes to cutting red tape, yes to cutting bureaucracy and needless delays by voting to pass the bill so that we can get shovels in the ground and get houses built so that more Ontarians can have a place to call home.

As I said, this is not a one-size-fits-all option. The bill proposes a plan for building homes attainable for all because there will be more choice and variety associated with the homes that can and will be built if this bill becomes law.

Ontarians made a decision on June 2, when they voted to re-elect our government. We were clear that a re-elected PC government, under the leadership of Premier Doug Ford, would introduce a housing supply plan every year for the next four years. We also made the bold commitment to build 1.5 million homes over the next decade. These changes being considered in this House with this bill will create, if passed, a solid foundation to address Ontario’s housing supply crisis over the long term, and it will be supplemented by continued action into the future.

This is a lengthy bill. It affects many other currently existing laws. I urge those who are inclined at this moment to oppose passage of the bill to read it very, very carefully. If they do read it, Speaker, they will know, for example, that the now 16-year-old City of Toronto Act, passed in 2006, would be amended, if this bill is passed, to establish the authority for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to make regulations imposing limits and conditions on the power of the city of Toronto to prohibit and regulate the demolition and conversion of residential rental properties.

If the members opposite who oppose or are inclined to oppose this bill read it carefully, they will no doubt become aware that the proposed legislation will amend the now 25-year-old Development Charges Act, and in doing so there will be exemptions for additional residential units. There will be exemptions for affordable and attainable housing. There will also be, if passed, amendments to the Municipal Act, 2001, now over 20 years old. These proposed changes would allow the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing—a minister responsible to this House—to make regulations imposing limits and conditions on the powers of any municipality to prohibit and regulate the demolition and conversion of residential rental properties. That measure extends the amendments of the City of Toronto Act to every municipality in the province, if passed. And that minister’s ability to do so is consistent with the fact that he sits in this House among us and is responsible to this House, and that is consistent with responsible government.

The members opposite will no doubt know, if they read this bill—and I encourage them to do it—that the New Home Construction Licensing Act, passed by the previous Liberal government, would be amended by this bill. It would give the minister a new power to make a regulation requiring the regulatory authority to establish, maintain and comply with a policy to govern payments to persons who have been adversely affected by contraventions from the funds the regulatory authority collects as fines and administrative penalties. We happen to believe that’s fair. I encourage members opposite inclined to vote against this bill to support that change.

You will find that the Ontario Heritage Act would be impacted by this act in this manner: There would be a new subsection that would provide for a process for the identification of properties in the heritage standards and guidelines. The existing provisions permit a ministry or prescribed public body to determine whether a property has cultural heritage value or interest. The process instead would permit the minister to review and confirm or revise the determination or any part of it—and, in the process, be accountable to this elected House.

They will find, Speaker, if they read the act, that even the recently enacted Ontario Land Tribunal Act would be impacted. Two important changes proposed to that act would be expanded powers under section 19 to provide that the OLT could dismiss a proceeding without a hearing if the tribunal is of the opinion that the party who brought the proceeding has contributed to undue delay of the proceeding. This is the kind of roadblock that cannot be tolerated. And importantly, following the example of cost consequences in the court system, the tribunal would, if this bill is passed, be able to make an order for costs that an unsuccessful party pay to a successful party—a very important deterrent to avoid a vexatious approach to matters before the tribunal, just as cost consequences in the courts provide for an incentive against vexatious or non-meritorious litigation.

You will find that the 10-year-old Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act of 2012 would also be amended with proposed changes set out in the act that regulations and ministers’ orders prevail in the event of a conflict with the memorandum of understanding or the corporation’s bylaws and resolutions, again moving the ability to deal with such an issue to a minister accountable to this House.

The Planning Act obviously would be amended as well, and I encourage the members to read the detailed amendments, which would include changes removing planning responsibilities in upper-tier municipalities in Simcoe, Halton, Peel, York, Durham, Niagara and Waterloo.

The proposed changes, finally, would limit conservation authority appeals of land use planning decisions and ensure that conservation authorities are acting in accordance with the mandate given to them many decades ago so they fulfill the purpose they were created for. Those are my submissions on this bill, Madam Speaker.