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It will require an all-hands-on-deck approach by all three levels of government if we are to provide the housing that’s needed
First, the good news. Toronto was recently ranked by Forbes as one of the best international cities around the world in which to live. The city was applauded for its infrastructure and unmistakable skyline and lauded for its extraordinary diversity, foods, languages, events and customs.
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The bad news? Our country has the lowest amount of housing per capita and the highest cost of housing among the G7 nations. We are in the middle of a full-blown housing crisis not seen in generations. Skyrocketing costs for materials, labour and financing, plus a 46-per-cent hike in development charges, are driving up the price of housing in Toronto and resulting in project cancellations.
This comes at a time when our population is growing and the need for housing is even greater. More than 400,000 immigrants are to be welcomed to the country each year. These families will need housing.
RESCON has developed a 15-point government action plan to boost the supply of new housing. We are calling on all three levels of government to tackle the housing supply and affordability crisis by immediately adopting a series of recommendations aimed at speeding up dysfunctional planning approvals processes, allowing more infill development, lowering taxes, and embracing digitization.
Our action plan, called Housing Ontario’s People Everywhere (HOPE), has specific and very effective solutions that can be implemented quickly by each level of government.
It will require an all-hands-on-deck approach by governments if we are to provide the housing that’s needed. The suggestions we are proposing can be put in place immediately to address the problem.
The blueprint recommends five actions for each level of government. We consulted a wide array of stakeholders who are concerned about the future of housing supply and affordability, from supportive housing builders and operators to developers of major projects.
Consultations included planning lawyers, housing advocates and groups, youth, former elected officials, Housing Affordability Task Force members, trade and financial sector organizations.
Municipally, we want major changes so that planning and development divisions will have to expedite housing applications and approvals with mandated timelines.
Our plan also calls for previous increases in taxes, fees and levies, such as development charges, to be reversed or reduced, the development approvals process to be digitized, a prohibition on the use of heritage designations to stop development, and reasonable densification to be allowed, particularly in Toronto.
Provincially, the government has already made strides. The Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act will certainly help, and we hope the powers can be expanded to other municipalities beyond Toronto and Ottawa.
We are recommending that the province mandate major municipalities to have an independent planning and development ombudsman to ensure applications are not delayed.
We also have suggestions on how to speed-up cases at the Ontario Land Tribunal, and recommend that municipalities be required to permit maximum reasonable residential development on sites, and that they also be required to put an end to policies that prohibit forms of reasonable light densification.
Federally, we want an exemption or rebate on HST collected on construction of residential buildings, more tax incentive programs, and an immigration system that permits more foreign-trained skilled workers to come to Ontario.
Additionally, the government must put more effort into encouraging skilled workers to consider relocating to Canada and activate federally owned land for housing.
To build 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years in Ontario, governments at all levels must take immediate, bold action. Residential construction is facing a perfect storm of obstacles. But governments have the ability to remove many of these barriers so that additional housing can be built.
The need for housing is at a critical level. To build the necessary stock, the residential development industry requires stability, predictability and certainty in all aspects of its operations, and should be able to expect it with respect to regulation, policy and approval timeframes.
We are in unprecedented times. Such occasions require extraordinary solutions.
Richard Lyall is president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON). He has represented the building industry in Ontario since 1991. Contact him at media@rescon.com.
