What are the priorities and focus at Queen's Park?

At the time of writing in mid-December, tree-felling began at Ontario Place as a first step in the controversial redevelopment there, the housing supply crisis in the province raged on and countless other issues faced the province.

Somehow, though, the provincial government deemed it suitable to begin its winter break a week early, suspending the legislature until late February. Yes, more than two full months away from sitting and trying to solve some of the most difficult challenges we’ve ever faced (short of COVID, which some experts believe is making a resurgence).

Relentless conundrum

Meanwhile, homebuilders and others with a vested interest in the housing industry in the province are struggling with a relentless conundrum – how to build the 1.5 million homes by 2031 that the government has pledged.

A new study by Malone Given Parsons Ltd. (MGP), commissioned for the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) and the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA), underlines just how serious this challenge is. The report identifies that there is insufficient land within municipal official plans in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) and Greater Toronto Area to meet mid- and long-term population growth, jeopardizing the provincial homebuilding objective and undermining efforts to address housing supply and affordability.

“Given that the GTHA accommodates over 30 per cent of Canada’s immigration each year, because immigration is the primary driver of population growth in Canada, a shortfall of housing has national implications,” says Neil Rodgers, OHBA interim chief executive officer. “The province has a policy statement to guide development for future growth. It commissioned extensive growth and housing requirement projections to help plan to 2051. This study demonstrates that by ignoring its own policies and projections, decisions made today are going to have far-reaching implications and show that we will be in a demand/supply imbalance for decades to come – continuously pushing prices up. If we’re to address the affordability crisis now, we need solutions that increase supply, promote transit supportive densities and housing choices on shorter timelines.”

'War-time effort'

“Ignoring its own policies and projections…” Given the housing crisis that, in the provincial government’s own recent words, necessitates a “war-time effort” to solve, this seems like a worthy cause to remain laser focused on. Not take an extended winter vacation.

In the meantime, BILD and the OHBA are calling on Ontario and municipal governments across the province to ensure that housing affordability and supply are addressed by making sufficient lands available for a market-based supply of housing. In addition, they are calling on the government to establish a transparent, modern and stable planning system to realize the forecasted growth in the GGH.