Yesterday, I was pleased to announce that our government is introducing legislation that is intended to give the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa the ability to move forward provincial priorities, select municipal department heads and deliver budgets.

We know that municipal governments play a crucial role in determining housing supply. And the reality is that over one third of Ontario’s growth in the next 10 years will come in the cities of Toronto and Ottawa.

Too many families today are struggling with housing and the rising cost of living. We need to empower our local leaders with the tools that they need to get it done. We are also counting on them to cut red tape, to build housing faster so that more Ontarians can realize the dream of attainable home ownership.

Thank you for the question.

In Tuesday’s throne speech, the government highlighted its desire to put in place the conditions that will lead to the construction of over a million homes.

We have seen that the lack of supply, along with the recent Bank of Canada interest rate hikes, are placing a strain on many young Ontario families looking to buy their first home—but it’s not just potential homebuyers; it’s also people looking for rental accommodation in an increasingly tough environment.

More often than not, delays caused by red tape, infighting at local councils or simply bad policy have stalled construction of housing, be it rental, non-profit, long-term-care or even someone wanting to buy a home.

Yesterday, the government tabled legislation that would supplement the powers of mayors in Toronto and Ottawa. Specifically, I want to know how these added authorities help move projects along.

Between 2003 and 2018, the previous Liberal government allowed communities to develop webs of red tape, which led to frustration, disappointment and, ultimately, drastically reduced housing supply. Our municipal partners, both in Toronto and Ottawa, have been calling our government to help them reduce this red tape while working with them to increase the supply of a mixed range of housing.

It is abundantly clear to anyone that leadership at the provincial level is essential if we are to assist our municipal partners in reaching our goal of over a million new homes, as outlined in the speech from the throne.

As a Toronto member, I’m keenly aware of the challenges of lack of supply, but at the same time I am now more than ever looking for solutions that will have both immediate and lasting impacts.

Specifically, how will a strong-mayor system in Toronto help address housing supply?

Empowering strong mayors is a good start to addressing housing needs to help big cities like Toronto and Ottawa, but what is our government doing for the other municipalities across the province? Our government must work with other municipalities to ensure that housing development is a priority for all across this province.

Speaker, is the minister taking any other action to help municipal leaders to identify and resolve problems that stand in the way of building more homes and building them now?

The member and the Toronto regional board of trade are 100% correct. Urgent action is needed to address Ontario’s housing crisis. Too many families are already struggling with housing and the rising cost of living.

We just had an election where we committed to Ontarians that we would build 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years. Increasing housing supply is a priority for our government, and we know that it is a shared priority with our municipal partners.

Speaker, the changes, if passed, would help empower the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa to ensure that they drive priority provincial projects forward. As our province grows, we need to ensure that communities keep pace. This will require bold solutions from all levels of government working together.

I’m proud to support Toronto and Ottawa as they cut through red tape and as they speed up development timelines so that more families can realize attainable home ownership.

We’re providing enhanced tools to the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa to get more homes built faster. These mayors oversee the two largest cities in our province, which are projected to have over one third of our province’s growth over the next decade. They need the tools to prepare for growth and ensure that the creation of new homes keeps pace with demand.

Speaker, we’re going to work with our two largest cities and other fast-growing communities that are shovel-ready, committed to growth and ready to cut red tape.

To help communities across Ontario build more attainable homes, Ontario is launching the housing supply action plan implementation team. The team will provide advice on market housing initiatives, including building on the vision of the Housing Affordability Task Force, More Homes for Everyone Act and other government consultations.

The government intends to appoint Drew Dilkens, the mayor of the city of Windsor, as chair and Mayor Cheryl Fort from the township of Moosonee. Both Mayor Dilkens and Mayor Fort have excellent track records for their service and success for their residents. Other team members will be appointed in the coming weeks, with the first meeting to take place in the fall.

Yes, absolutely she deserves it. As the second female Indigenous mayor to be elected in Ontario, Mayor Fort knows how to get results and brings an impressive background to the team. Before serving as mayor, she served as a school board trustee, library board chair, hospital board member, town councillor and Legion youth education chair. She’s also the northern zone director of the Ontario Good Roads Association.

A dedicated public servant, Mayor Fort has stood up for women as part of our government’s task force on women and the economy, where she played a leading role in ensuring women who were disproportionately affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19 were able to bounce back stronger than ever. Mayor Fort brings a unique perspective to the team, with intimate knowledge and experience of the unique needs of northern and rural Ontarians. Simply put, Mayor Fort is someone you want to have in your corner fighting for you. For those who are counting on our government to deliver results, I know she won’t stop until the job is done.

Mayor Dilkens and Mayor Fort will be complemented by team members with a range of backgrounds and expertise, all ready to work for Ontarians. We look forward to sharing details of the remaining members of the team in the coming weeks. Once the selection process is complete, the team will hold their first meeting in early fall to get to work immediately.

I have said this earlier, but it really needs to be repeated: Every Ontarian deserves a place to call home, period. Right now, the lack of attainable housing is a long-term problem in our province, and that’s why we are standing here today: because right now in Ontario, too many families are frozen out of the housing market. Too many Indigenous Ontarians, too many newcomers, too many people, too many women, too many gig-economy workers, too many people who put in an honest day’s work to achieve their dream are being shut out of the housing market. That must and will change.

We made an election promise to build 1.5 million new homes over the next 10 years so that more of these families can realize the dream of home ownership. One way we’re doing this is by introducing key legislation that will help empower the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa. This will help drive provincial priorities forward in two of the province’s largest cities: priorities like increasing the amount of available housing. We’re also doing this by establishing the Housing Supply Action Plan Implementation Team to provide advice on market housing initiatives, a team dedicated to action and results. Their expertise will help us continue to work with our partners to deliver a new housing supply action plan every year over four years. This will help us deliver those real, long-term housing solutions we need here in Ontario.

We’re confident we will succeed, Mr. Speaker, because our government’s policies are already delivering real results. We have seen record housing construction because of the initiatives that we put forward in 2019, by this amazing minister. We will continue to make it easier for all people in Ontario to find a home that meets their needs.

Ontario is the greatest province in the best country in the world, a beacon of hope in a troubled time, a place of opportunity and prosperity, and everyone who works hard and does their part must be able to have the dream of home ownership in reach. This government, our Premier and our entire team will not stop until we get shovels in the ground to build the homes we need in order to achieve the dreams that Ontarians have for themselves, their families and their communities. Enough talk; let’s get to work.

With that, I would like to invite the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the member for Thunder Bay–Atikokan, to continue to speak to our government’s commitment to our municipal partners and housing. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I offer my congratulations to you on your election to the Speaker’s chair—

Interruption.

I’m happy to be speaking as a newly appointed parliamentary assistant to this great ministry. That’s because I’m delighted to have the opportunity to speak about the fine qualities of our government’s bill and its obvious benefits and timeliness.

As you have heard, our proposed changes would provide the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa with additional governance tools, as well as increased powers to align municipal decision-making with provincial priorities. Because our changes are so important, I would like to remind you of them again. These changes would give these two mayors the power to hire and fire the chief administrative officer of the municipality as well as its department heads, and the mayor would be able to create and reorganize departments.

The mayor would also be able to appoint the chairs and vice-chairs of committees and local boards if any are identified in regulation. They would also be able to establish committees. In addition, the mayor would have the power to direct matters of provincial priority for council consideration, and be able to direct staff to prepare proposals.

Perhaps most importantly, the mayor would have the power to develop the municipality’s budget, and then take it to council for consideration. Council would be able to propose amendments to the budget, subject to a mayor’s veto and council override process.

At the same time, the proposed changes in this bill would make the mayor more personally accountable by giving them veto power over bylaws passed by council if, in the mayor’s opinion, it did not further a provincial priority. To counter this, council would be able to override a mayoral veto of a bylaw with a two-thirds majority vote.

The proposed changes would also affect the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act by requiring the mayor to declare any financial interests related to the use of the new powers. They would be prevented from using these new powers where any financial conflict exists.

Our bill, if passed, would also require a by-election be held to replace the mayor if the office becomes vacant. Currently, municipal councils have the choice of holding a by-election or appointing a new mayor.

I want to emphasize that all of the powers and rules I’ve mentioned so far would apply to Toronto and Ottawa only. However, the proposed changes would give the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing the regulatory authority to designate other municipalities that these powers could apply to. The minister would also have the regulatory authority to set out in more detail how the new powers can be used.

As the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing has explained, Toronto and Ottawa were chosen because over one third of the growth in Ontario over the next 10 years is forecasted to take place in these two cities. What’s more is that we were looking for municipalities that are shovel-ready, committed to growth and committed to cutting red tape.

I now want to address some points that have been raised about our government’s proposed legislation. Some have asked why our government is introducing the bill at this time, immediately before a municipal election. The reason is that we need to move quickly to address the province’s housing crisis. Ontario has a housing supply crisis, and we have no time to spare. We also want to ensure that these proposed changes are in place before the new term of council begins in mid-November, so they can hit the ground running.

Some have asked if other municipalities would get these new powers. I must emphasize again that Toronto and Ottawa are the selected municipalities at this time because of their expected growth and because they are shovel-ready. Our government is always open to, at a later date, assessing opportunities to extend these new powers to other growing municipalities where housing is needed.

There are also questions arising about the mayoral veto of bylaws. For that, we have ensured that a system of checks and balances is in place. This includes the tool for two thirds of a council to override a mayoral veto.

Please remember that the mayoral powers to veto bylaws and bring matters forward to council meetings would apply only if related to provincial priorities such as building 1.5 million new homes by 2033. It would also pertain to priorities that revolve around construction and maintenance of critical infrastructure to support accelerated supply and availability of housing, including but not limited to transit, roads, utilities and servicing.

Speaker, these proposed new powers for the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa are needed now. Passage of this proposed legislation will further empower these newly elected mayors when they begin their term of office. It would give them more opportunity to help achieve our shared municipal-provincial priorities. If passed, this legislation would allow us to work more effectively with our municipal partners as we move toward our shared goals of helping more families reach the dream of attainable home ownership.

The fact is, there simply are not enough homes that are attainable for the families who want to call Ontario home. Across the province, no matter where you go, one thing remains the same: Ontarians are having difficulty finding housing that meets their needs and their budgets. We need to help boost housing supply in this province. We need to help our municipal partners get new housing projects approved quicker and empowering mayors to take more responsibility in their communities can help us do that.

I’d like to add that strong-mayor systems work very well in other jurisdictions. The minister referenced some of this in his remarks, but I’d like to take a deeper look at some of those jurisdictions.

Let’s start with New York City. The mayor acts as chief executive officer and does not sit as a member of council. I want to add here that if our proposed legislation is passed, a mayor will still sit on council and every council member will still have one vote. However, similar to what we are proposing, the mayor of New York City may appoint and remove heads of administrations, departments, all commissioners and all other non-elected officers, except as otherwise provided in the law. Also, the mayor of New York City has the power to create or abolish departments or positions within the mayor’s office.

When it comes to budgets, the mayor of New York City develops the budget and any accompanied financial plans and submits them to council for consideration and approval. With regard to veto powers, the mayor of New York City can veto any council decision to add to, increase or place terms on budget items. Council can override a mayoral veto related to the budget with a two-thirds majority vote.

Now, let’s look at Chicago. Just like in New York City, the mayor is the chief executive officer of the city and does not sit on council. However, unlike New York City, the Chicago mayor must obtain council consent to appoint and remove heads of all city departments and officers of the municipality, all commissions, all boards and all agencies, except as otherwise provided in the law. As in New York City, and as proposed by our bill, the mayor of Chicago directs the city’s budget process and submits the city’s annual budget to council for consideration and approval. In Chicago, the mayor can veto any changes council votes to make to the budget and council can override the mayoral veto with a two-thirds majority vote.

Now let’s look at Los Angeles. Again, the mayor of Los Angeles is the chief executive officer of the city and does not have a seat on council. The mayor in Los Angeles has the power to create or abolish bureaus, divisions or positions within the executive office of the mayor, including having power to remove certain city officials. Just like in New York, Chicago and our proposed legislation, the mayor of Los Angeles directs the budget and sends it to council for approval. The mayor can veto any changes or additions council makes and, in turn, council can override a mayoral veto with a two-thirds majority vote.

So you see, our proposed legislation is not new or untried, and frankly it is not something we can afford to wait another minute on.

Of course, these proposed changes are part of our government’s greater strategy to increase the supply of attainable housing. We have introduced two housing supply action plans: More Homes, More Choice in 2019, and More Homes for Everyone earlier this year. Both of these plans put forward a list of policy changes to help address housing supply shortages with the aim of getting housing built faster in the province. We also conducted a three-part consultation with industry, municipalities and the public to help identify and implement more solutions to increase housing supply.

One element of our government’s thorough consultation was the creation of the Housing Affordability Task Force. The task force was made up of experts from all across the housing sector. There are representatives from not-for-profit housing, Indigenous housing, real estate, home builders, financial markets and economics. We wanted to ensure everyone was represented.

After speaking with a variety of stakeholders, they developed a thought-provoking report. The list of recommendations in their report focused on the best ways the province can help support the creation of more housing all across Ontario. We know that we have to look further ahead than just the here and now; we have to look at ways we can catch up to the future growth.

As the associate minister pointed out, our goal is to deliver real, long-term solutions using the Housing Affordability Task Force’s recommendations as our housing road map. It will guide us as we work with our partners to develop a new housing supply action plan each year over four years.

Addressing the housing supply crisis is a long-term strategy that requires long-term commitment and partnership at all levels of government. We must ensure municipalities actively support our housing-related policies, and we must look to the best way we can work with our municipal partners to support more residential projects in the years to come. That is why we committed to establishing a housing supply action plan implementation team.

As the associate minister detailed, this new team would be made up of a volunteer chair and up to seven other members representing key housing sectors. The group members will provide advice to the government on monitoring progress and supporting improvements to our annual housing supply action plans. The team members will be tasked with advising on the implementation of our More Homes for Everyone plan, as well as other measures that achieve the vision and objectives of the Housing Affordability Task Force’s recommendations.

The team will also be there to react to any emerging housing priorities and issues identified by our government. We will count on their expertise to help us determine how the initiatives to increase market housing supply would impact the people of Ontario and the best way to implement them in the years ahead.

We want to achieve the best results from our policies, and the Housing Supply Action Plan Implementation Team will help us get there. In addition to the main team members, they will be supported by additional consultation tables of housing experts who provide technical advice and insights on specific topics.

With all of these layers of expertise, the Housing Supply Action Plan Implementation Team will provide ongoing confidential advice on market housing initiatives to the minister. We believe this would be the most beneficial way to deal with the ebbs and flows of the ever-changing housing market.

Mr. Speaker, we are standing here today to underline our commitment to help build more homes in communities across the province, faster than we have been seeing in recent years. Strong-mayor systems will empower municipal leaders to work more effectively with the province to reduce timelines for development, standardize processes and address local barriers to increasing the supply of housing.

We are in a housing crisis and we know that every move we make right now is critical to addressing it. We have set out a clear goal: We are building 1.5 million new homes over the next 10 years. We will do this through yearly action plans, as well as our newly created Housing Supply Action Plan Implementation Team to support our initiatives. We are also doing it through other pieces of proposed legislation like the one my colleagues and I have spoken on today.

As the population of Ontario grows, housing needs to keep up. By empowering the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa to move forward on shared priority items, we will be doing just that.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It is my great honour to stand up in the House for the very first time to be speaking on Bill 3, the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act. I’d like to start off by acknowledging one of my city hall colleagues previously, the member from Toronto Centre who is also in the chamber. I know we may not agree on many things, we may not have at city hall, but it’s great to be joining you as well.

As I stand in the House for the first time, I want to thank the great people from York South–Weston as they’ve entrusted me to represent them here at Queen’s Park and deliver for our community. Today, across the GTA and the entire province, we are facing a housing crisis, where too many hard-working families are struggling with housing and the rising cost of living. This is no different in my community of York South–Weston.

Recently I chatted with a young university student named Ben, who grew up in the riding and continues to live there with his family, friends and neighbours. He loves the area, but is frustrated and anxious about whether he can ever move out after he graduates this year and eventually own his own home in our community. Ben isn’t alone. This is something I’ve heard time and time again from young people and young families in my riding.

The reality is that our population is growing rapidly, with over a third of growth over the next decade expected to happen in our province’s two most populous cities, Toronto and Ottawa. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, housing construction is not keeping pace with the rapid growth of our province and these communities, after years of inaction. There is just not enough supply of homes to meet the growing demand, which is pushing the dream of home ownership too far out of reach and making affordable rentals harder to find for so many hard-working families.

It shouldn’t be this way. Ontarians from all walks of life should be able to work hard, save up and eventually own a home when the time is right. We understand that with inflation driving up the cost of living even higher, Ontarians need their government to be all hands on deck and implementing new, bold solutions. It is critical that we continue to build on our bold vision for the future and for the province to keep costs down and ensure Ontario communities continue to be the best place in the world to live, work and raise a family.

That is exactly what we are going to do. It starts with building more housing supply that everyday people—young families, renters, newcomers and seniors like those in diverse communities such as York South–Weston—can afford and access. Because no matter where you go, people are looking for housing that meets their needs and their budget.

I am proud of the progress that our government has been able to accomplish under the leadership of the Premier and Minister Clark. I welcome the good news that our government’s policies have helped get shovels in the ground for more than 100,000 homes in the last year alone, which is record-setting over the last 30 years.

I know there is still more work that needs to be done to deliver on our commitment to build 1.5 million new homes in our province. However, unlike my opposition colleagues, who say no to housing and the policies our government has put forward, our government is supporting our municipal partners, improving planning policies and cutting red tape to say yes to building more homes faster for everyone.

As a former Toronto city councillor, I know first-hand how it takes way too long to get things built and how frustrating long, drawn-out processes and red tape can be. For example, in Toronto’s northwest community, getting necessary permits, studies and zoning changes to potentially build thousands of new homes can take years, even to be able to get shovels in the ground. There are too many hands in the pot, with too many layers of bureaucracy, studies, permits that are delaying and driving up the cost of housing, construction and other critical infrastructure projects being built across our city.

There are too many delays, whether it’s responding to meeting requests, communications and points of clarification—which is a very much on-the-ground experience that I have seen, being a city councillor—and too many silos and layers that make it challenging for the development community to navigate and move their projects forward.

The people of my community and communities across Ontario, especially in Toronto and Ottawa, are tired of the countless studies and bureaucracy. Change can be slow and challenging at city hall. That is why they need and deserve action now, which is why we are introducing this critical piece of legislation to empower our municipal partners to get it done.

The new strong-mayor system will support better and faster decision-making at a local level and ensure Ontario’s two biggest cities are equipped with the powers they need to cut through red tape and get shovels in the ground. As I’ve mentioned, as a former city councillor in the city of Toronto, I know these municipalities can benefit from these changes presented in Bill 3. The new legislation will help drive up housing supply and speed up local planning approvals, driving policy changes and enabling mayors to build the right team to get the job done and develop budgets to make it happen.

Unlike the federal and provincial elections, where constituents directly vote for their local representative, municipal electors are also able to vote directly for the mayor whose vision, priorities and commitments best align with their values and what they would like to see for the future of their city and community. Although the mayor receives the direct endorsement of the people from across the city, they are stuck with one vote, similar to the rest of the council. The mayor should have more influence over the direction and the future of the city, over one individual city councillor.

However, that does not take away from the importance of city council as a whole, and we are empowering that through this bill. We are setting the bar higher for mayors and making it easier for them to deliver results based on the vision that they were elected to execute for their communities, and better hold them accountable for the decisions they make.

The legislation we are enabling the mayor to direct city staff to develop and bring forward proposals for city council consideration—sorry.

Interjection: Are you okay?

Yes.

We are setting the bar higher for mayors and making it easier for them to deliver results based on the vision they were elected to execute on for their communities and to better hold them accountable for the decisions they make. This legislation will enable the mayor to direct city staff to develop and bring forward proposals for council consideration that advance provincial priorities such as building more housing, transit and transit-oriented communities.

Mr. Speaker, again, we understand that there is no silver bullet to solve the housing crisis that has been decades in the making in this great province, but this bill is yet another step in the right direction and part of our long-term plan to build all kinds of homes, address the missing middle and help all Ontarians find a home that meets their needs.

Our government is about finding solutions and putting these solutions into action. There is no more time to waste. That is what our communities expect of us as elected officials. I am proud to be part of a government that is tirelessly working for the people and putting these ideas into action.

By building faster, adding more housing supply and making municipalities more accountable we can bring the dream of home ownership closer to reality for all people, including the very diverse communities and new immigrants from around our province who call Ontario home for the very first time, and give them a better life.

Together, let’s build more homes that people can afford. Let’s get it done.

Report continues in volume B.