York Regional Council calls on provincial government to halt Bill 23

Newmarket – York Regional Council has passed a motion requesting the province halt Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 to allow for more fulsome analysis and meaningful consultation and collaboration with Ontario’s municipalities and other stakeholders.

The motion, brought forward by City of Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti and seconded by City of Richmond Hill Mayor David West, requests the Government of Ontario to halt Bill 23 and convene the consultation with the Housing Supply Action Plan Implementation Team (HSAPIT) to ensure municipalities can work in partnership with the province to address the housing affordability crisis in our communities.

“Regional Council and The Regional Municipality of York remain aligned with the provincial goal of building more homes and increasing the speed of approvals, but we do have concerns with the proposed legislation,” said York Region Chairman and CEO Wayne Emmerson. “As proposed, Bill 23 will have considerable and complex economic, social and environmental impacts and will significantly impact how municipal governments recover the costs associated with growth.”

Introduced into the Ontario Legislature on October 25, 2022, Bill 23 proposes to amend nine acts with varying levels of impact on municipalities. Most significant of these amendments are proposed changes to the Development Charges Act and The Planning Act, which would limit the ways in which a municipality can finance growth related infrastructure and may, in reality, contradict the goal of building more affordable housing. Further to the sweeping changes outlined in Bill 23, the government has provided a short window for consultation, requiring municipalities and other stakeholders to submit comments on the legislation by November 24, 2022.   

“The concept that growth should pay for growth is a long-held practice of governments around the world,” said City of Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti. “In bringing forward this motion and asking the province to take a pause on Bill 23, Regional Council is asking the province to collaborate and work with its municipal partners to address the affordable housing crisis while ensuring the financial burden of growth-related infrastructure does not sit with our existing property taxpayers.”

York Region continues to work with municipal partners and many stakeholders across the province to further understand the changes outlined in Bill 23 and to put forward coordinated recommendations that support local planning decisions.

The Regional Municipality of York consists of nine local cities and towns and provides a variety of programs and services to more than 1.2 million residents and 54,000 businesses with over 650,000 employees. More information about the Region’s key service areas is available at york.ca/regionalservices

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Media Contact:

Kylie-Anne Doerner, Corporate Communications, The Regional Municipality of York
Phone: 905-806-7138
Email: [email protected]