Opinion: Queens Park's 'strong mayor' reform will strain housing

The Ontario government should cut out middlemen and make the tough decisions themselves

Steve Lafleur and Josef Filipowicz

With Ontario's local elections on the horizon, the Ford government recently introducedlegislation. This greatly increases the powers exercised by mayors in cities such as Toronto and Ottawa. Under new regulations called "strong mayoral" powers, mayors of these cities can, among other things, vetobylawspassed by local councils.

Strong mayors, housing laws are based on the idea that the proposed authority will help build more homesstate government logic By giving our mayors these powers, we are in a better place to block city council initiatives that run contrary to state policy. In this case, the goal is to build 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years. While this may result in additional project approvals, states must cut out middlemen and make the difficult decisions themselves.

A proposed strong mayoral law would create a huge gap between the number of homes in Ontario and indeed Canada needs to restore widespread housing affordability. } can be a useful tool in bridging gaps. I can do it.

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But it is not clear why this should be left to the mayor's discretion. Queen's Park already has all the necessary powers regarding housing supply. The Housing Affordability Task Force, launched by the Ontario government late last year, provided concrete examples of state legislation that could meaningfully move the dials of housing. For example, states have the power to end exclusive zoning statewide. This is done “as a right” by allowing up to 4 units and her 4 stories on each detached lot (without any legal or regulatory hurdles).

So why do we need to introduce the current "strong mayor" law? It's like bucking, frankly. Giving mayors the power to enforce state priorities (if they want to) seems like a way the state might approve more housing without making tough political decisions. But that's far from a guarantee.

Local governments, like state governments, respond to voter priorities to get elected and stay elected. City Council members have strong incentives to block projects voters may not like, and because they have less reason to care about house prices across cities and regions, councils are a major player in housing construction. can be a serious obstacle. It is conceivable that transferring powers to the mayor could steer decisions in a more housing-friendly direction, as she represents the entire city rather than her one particular community, unlike a city councilor. Mayors do not have the luxury of opposing new housing in one borough and vaguely promising to allow housing in other, more "suitable" areas of the city. But there are still no strong incentives to have enough housing to accommodate future citizens.

Rather than assigning new powers to mayors in hopes of guiding new bylaws toward state goals, the state will act immediately and on a broader scale. have the ability There is no reason why these decisions cannot be made at the ministerial level to ensure local land use policies are aligned with the state's housing priorities, following Nova Scotia'sapproach.

The provincial government represents all Ontarians, including those discounted from expensive housing markets like Toronto and Ottawa. Given that, you should be willing to take matters into your own hands. States have constitutional powers over local government and land use, and have better incentives than local politicians to ensure that adequate housing is built. You should use that authority instead of delegating it.

A proposed new mayoral system could help build housing in the state's most expensive cities. But Ontario needs to act quickly if it has any chance of meeting the government's housing goals. At present there is little reason to believe that this is achievable at the municipal level. It's time for the Ford government to put the hammer down.

National Post feature article

Steve Lafleur is a public policy analyst and Josef Filipowicz is an urban policy expert.

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