Ontario: Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM) will meet on Friday. Tensions have erupted between the province’s largest city and Premier Doug Ford due to the financial impact of the new housing bill.
Mayor John Tory will be in a group of 29 mayors who will attend the meeting to be held at 9:30 a.m. on Friday.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown and Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie will also join the group. At the top of the agenda will be the province’s new Housing Bill 23 – The More Homes Built Faster Act – and the threat to municipalities regarding funding will also be discussed.
The bill, which was passed on Monday, proposes to reduce certain fees on rented houses and affordable housing.
The province has set a target of building another 1.5 million homes over the next ten years, but some mayors are concerned about how the gap in city funds will be bridged.
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) says changes in development charges will cost communities $5 billion. The association says that the direct burden of this will have to be paid to the taxpayers with higher taxes and fewer services.
In a statement this week, Ford said it was staggering that cities had to charge on affordable and attainable homes.