SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Ontario Assembly

43rd Parl. 1st Sess.
October 30, 2023 09:00AM
  • Oct/30/23 10:00:00 a.m.
  • Re: Bill 136 

I won’t select which person I need a response from, but the question I have for the government is—I appreciate the rollback of the attack on the greenbelt. I want to ask why the lands that are part of the greenbelt that are going to be destroyed by Highway 413 aren’t being protected in this bill.

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  • Oct/30/23 10:00:00 a.m.
  • Re: Bill 136 

Speaker, as you know, the bill and the greenbelt, as it was contemplated back in 2005, ensures that important pieces of infrastructure can be built within the greenbelt area lands. We’re not changing that. Obviously, it’s very important that, as I said in my speech, with the Golden Horseshoe to expand to 15 million people by 2051, they do need to have opportunity to move around the province and get product to market. We will continue with the 413 because it’s an important piece of infrastructure.

I’ve used ministerial zoning orders and will continue to use ministerial zoning orders to help ensure that housing gets done faster. That includes social housing and affordable housing across the province of Ontario. Our housing supply action plans have been moving forward each and every year, and of course the Housing Affordability Task Force—we are well on our way to accomplishing a number of the recommendations there.

We are not stopping building homes. In fact, we have the highest level of starts in over 30 years and the highest level of purpose-built rentals in over 30 years. I think the policies that we’ve got in place are working very well, but we have to double down and do even more.

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