By Allison Jones
Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack launched laws Thursday that he mentioned would streamline approvals and let builders construct houses extra rapidly.
“Merely put, it takes too lengthy and it prices an excessive amount of to construct infrastructure and houses in Ontario,” he mentioned at a press convention.
“This laws continues to construct on the work we’ve got finished beforehand to create the situations (for) homebuilders to do what they do greatest and that’s to construct.”
However when requested if it could spur the trade sufficient to permit the province to succeed in its 1.5 million house objective, Flack was noncommittal.
“I’m dedicated to getting shovels within the floor sooner,” he mentioned. “I’m wanting on the subsequent six to 12 months to get this factor kick began. The long run would be the future. We’re in a housing disaster. We get it.”
Ontario’s ultimate tally for housing begins in 2024 was effectively off what’s wanted to realize 1.5 million houses, even with varied new classes the federal government is including equivalent to college dorms, and the monetary accountability officer says housing begins for the primary quarter of 2025 had been on the lowest ranges since 2009.
Homebuilders have mentioned that among the most useful measures governments might take to encourage growth could be to scale back taxes and costs.
Measures in Flack’s laws embody prohibiting the town of Toronto from requiring inexperienced roofs and taking intention at different so-called inexperienced requirements, dashing up the institution of transit-oriented communities, permitting some minor variances as of proper and facilitating sooner minister’s zoning orders, which permit regular planning processes to be circumvented.
Dave Wilkes, president and CEO of the Constructing Business and Land Improvement Affiliation, mentioned he welcomed the laws.
“This invoice acknowledges and addresses the significance of manufacturing housing provide sooner, at a scale and price to satisfy the wants of Ontario households,” he wrote in a press release.
The laws additionally goals to sort out some rental points, together with delays on the Landlord and Tenant Board, and would shorten the discover interval when tenants are being evicted on account of non-payment of hire.
As effectively, the invoice accommodates a number of transportation objects, and Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria mentioned it contains making certain business truck drivers on Ontario roads, notably northern highways equivalent to 11 and 17, are higher outfitted to deal with street situations equivalent to heavy snowfall.
“One of many adjustments made right here, to have a compulsory licence ready interval of Canadian driving expertise of at the least one yr, would be certain that people (who) are right here expertise street situations of all types earlier than being eligible for a business automobile licence,” he mentioned.
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Final modified: October 23, 2025
