London’s pledge of 47,000 homes includes assertive letter to province but avoids ‘punching them in the face’
Frustration with the province’s new housing legislation boiled over in council chambers.
On Tuesday, several councillors sought to toughen the tone of the mayor’s letter pledging to achieve London’s assigned housing target.
“A letter that says, here’s what we’re going to do, but here’s what we need you to do,” asserted Coun. Skylar Franke.
The provincial government’s More Homes Built Faster Act (Bill 23) set a goal to add 1.5 million residential units in Ontario by 2031– including 47,000 in London.
City council has until March 1 to send a letter pledging to achieve the housing target, including anticipated strategies and challenges.
Several councillors urged that the letter emphasize their numerous concerns with the new provincial housing legislation.
The legislation aims to streamline the approval of new residential development, but strips municipalities of several powers and reduces the amount of development fees collected on new construction.
It also weakens some environmental, parkland, and heritage policies.
Coun. Franke suggested the letter include reciprocal expectations.
“If we’re going to achieve these targets, you (the province) are going to need to help us with affordable units, you need to help us with funding, you need to help us with other affordability issues like rent control,” she said.
However, Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis urged diplomacy when writing to Ontario’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing about the housing target, “We do require them to be a partner, and punching them in the face in a letter is not going to help us get the funding for some of our needs. I would encourage aggressive diplomacy.”
“There’s an opportunity for diplomacy, but it’s really important to highlight those issues that are challenging for the city,” responded Coun. Corrine Rahman. “Make it known (to the province) that those challenges (cause) consequences which we are going to bear, our taxpayers are going to have to bear.”
Coun. Sam Trosow suggested a focused approach.
“Somewhere between not saying anything, and punching them in the face, is a very clear recitation of what some of our very clear and compelling concerns are,” he said.
There is already approval from city hall to construct 18,513 residential units that still haven’t broken ground, about 40 per cent of the target.
The pledge will include plans to develop a Housing Supply Action Plan focussed on:
- financial supports
- enterprise-wide resources
- shared accountability
“The pledge is not meant to be the be-all-end-all endpoint with the province,” assured Mayor Josh Morgan.
Morgan added that the housing pledge letter he’ll send to the province by the March 1 deadline will include municipal concerns about Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act.
“I think they are looking for us to identify roadblocks and challenges to the process, including those that may have been caused by legislation by the province.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.