A developer bought up greenbelt land—listen to this. He borrowed $100 million at 21% interest, but didn’t know the bill was coming forward. Eighteen times the minister and the Premier promised not to touch the greenbelt.

My question is to the Niagara Centre MPP: As a former city councillor yourself, do you believe that the loss of development fees will hurt their communities and cause all municipalities in the province of Ontario to raise taxes?

I’d like to address this question to the member from Niagara Centre.

Speaker, at the core of this legislation, it is very simple. I’ve read it over a few times now, and it is very simple. It gives local legislatures elected by Ontarians the extra tools that support efficient local decision-making. That’s something I want to reiterate: efficient local decision-making.

It also gives elected officials the tools they need to remove barriers that are stalling development, like housing. I want to reiterate that point: It’s stalling development.

My question is: The proposed legislation, if passed, will give local legislatures elected by Ontarians the extra tools they need to get shovels in the ground and help us prepare for Ontario’s future growth. Why doesn’t the opposition trust Ontarians to—

My question is to the Premier. The government has said it is looking at continuing its assault on democratic norms by bringing strong-mayor powers to more regions, including Halton, Durham, Niagara, Peel, Waterloo and York. We do not have to sacrifice democratic norms to address our housing crisis.

Instead of doubling down on minority rule, can your government withdraw Bill 39 immediately?

Thank you.

The member for Niagara Falls.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to reply.

The next question.

My question is to the Premier. In my riding, the mayor of Fort Erie, Wayne Redekop, said Bill 23 will “significantly benefit developers,” with no guarantee it would lead to lower housing prices. The town of Niagara-on-the-Lake has said Bill 23 could lead to the “loss of important cultural heritage resources.”

In the riding of Niagara West, the town of Pelham voiced concerns. The town of Lincoln’s mayor said, “Amendments to these acts will change how we fund the services and programs our community members expect from us.” Speaker, that means the PCs are forcing municipalities to raise taxes. The town of Grimsby outright rejected Bill 23.

Why are the Premier and the MPP from Niagara West ignoring the concerns of Niagara regional municipalities’ elected officials?

Speaker, our proposed legislation has received strong support, and I’m going to give one example on the record for the member. Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley said, “I applaud the province for considering all options at their disposal to address this crisis, including exploration of expansion of so-called strong-mayor powers. As regional chair, I look forward to working with the ... provincial facilitators to find ways to better support our growing population while addressing the housing crisis.”

Speaker, it’s partners like Jim Bradley, who have a long experience in both municipal and provincial politics in Ontario, who will help our government shape our next steps.

The members opposite—especially this member, who doesn’t support his chair, Jim Bradley, in Niagara—have to make sure that if they’re going to talk numbers, they’ve got to talk numbers that are correct. We’re going to move forward and we’re going to have some audits to ensure that the numbers that are being bounced around by our municipal partners are verified.