News: Opposition - new Ontario bill "does nothing to make homes more affordable"

In this week's Industry News (Week of 28 Mar 2022).

Ford government unveils plans to fix soaring Ontario housing prices — but not everything's on the table | CBC News Opposition says bill 'does nothing to make homes more affordable' Premier Doug Ford's government is unveiling the first phase of its plan to deal with the skyrocketing cost of buying a home in Ontario. The government has tabled a bill that, in part, takes aim at delays within planning at the municipal level, suggesting the approval process in place slows down home construction and drives up prices. Steve Clark, municipal affairs and housing minister, told reporters after the legislation was tabled Wednesday that he is confident this bill will create more housing, faster. "While housing starts have hit record levels over the past two years, long, drawn out processes are delaying housing, and pushing the dream of home ownership out of reach for too many Ontarians," Clark said at a news conference. The province first revealed the details of its plans in a dense, 42-page document during a technical briefing with reporters Wednesday afternoon. You can read it at the bottom of this story. The plan comes after a housing affordability task force convened by the government released a report last month offering 55 recommendations, including a goal of building 1.5 million homes in 10 years. That target is double the current pace of new construction. The province says it is also putting $19 million over three years toward reducing backlogs at the Ontario Land Tribunal and Landlord and Tenant Board. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath slammed the bill in a statement, saying it "does nothing to make homes more affordable." "It doesn't build starter homes or 'missing middle' homes like duplexes and townhomes," Horwath said. "The bill does nothing to take on speculation. It doesn't help renters or buyers. It doesn't even do the bare minimum [the government's] own task force recommended." Immediate impact uncertain It's far from certain whether the measures coming from the government Wednesday will have any short-term impact on the price of buying a home in Ontario. The task force's recommendations were almost entirely focused on boosting the supply of housing over the coming years. Late Tuesday afternoon, the Ford government announced it is boosting Ontario's foreign buyers tax on residential real estate to 20 per cent and expanding its scope to apply province-wide. Ontario's "non-resident speculation tax" was introduced in 2017 by the then-Liberal government of Kathleen Wynne at a time when home prices were rising sharply. It had a significant impact, pushing prices downward into 2018.

See the full article here.

See the Ontario government's presentation outlining the first phase of its plan here.

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