Dear Editor:
RE: Ontario’s Bill 39 (Strong Mayors) “For Better Municipal Governance” and Bill 23 “More Homes Built Faster”.
I am troubled on so many levels by both these bills as I am concerned with the degree of authority being removed from our municipal level. There is so much at stake in this government’s proposal of these bills.
Does Bill 39 not remove the essence of municipal democracy? Is it not ripe for misuse of power? Is it not ripe for corruption?
Does not the removal of authority and funding from our conservation authorities ill equip us to protect people from improperly located building sites and conditions? Does it keep people safe from our water and our water safe from our people especially as we prepare for ongoing climate adjustment?
Does not the removal of municipal levies for developers lay the cost and burden of development on the existing tax payers? Is this not unconscionable.?
Does the removal of the teeth in each municipality’s carefully and reasonably successfully prepared planning documents set us up for a mass of poorly planned and poorly serving development?
Does building houses in this environment really target the category required “affordable” when labour shortage and material shortage drives up the cost and the cheapest house a developer can build is still four times the cost that most Ontarian’s can afford?
Would investments in mental health and general health care, and consideration of living wage not better address our homeless crises?
Is there a way to assess how much availability of housing units is tied up in Airbnb and short-term rental which could be addressed with zoning?
Could we not address empty units owned by investors especially in the Toronto condo market which has finally reached saturation?
What about reinvesting in severance of rural homes instead of bulldozing them to create better scenarios for farmers acquiring land with no desire to be renters.
What about the calculation of our baby boomer housing stock that may soon flood the market?
How many rental units are being removed from people’s reach with “renovictions” now allowed?
Pam Farrow,
Holstein