Ontario’s municipal affairs and housing minister is encouraging leaders of the cities and regions that are revisiting their official plans after the Ford government walked back changes it imposed to find ways to “systematically increase density,” particularly near transit hubs.
That direction, which mirrors recommendations from the provincial housing affordability task force, came from Minister Paul Calandra in a letter related to the announcement he made less than two weeks ago to undo changes his predecessor made to a dozen local governments’ development-shaping official plans.
Three sources who are either close to the government or were a recipient of the letter, dated Thursday, confirmed its authenticity.
In his letter, Calandra reiterates details of his Oct. 23 announcement, including that mayors of the impacted municipalities and regions have until Dec. 7 to submit any modified versions to the official plan they previously gave the provincial government to approve.
Although Calandra plans to introduce legislation reversing 12 of the official plans that former minister Steve Clark oversaw changes to before that submission deadline, “municipal feedback received during the 45-day window, and through consultation on the legislation, will be carefully considered,” he notes.
Calandra adds that while heads of local governments are free to seek their council’s endorsement of their proposed changes, it’s not required.
“Official plans are an important tool for addressing Ontario’s shortage of housing. To that end, as you prepare your feedback, I encourage you to ensure your proposed approach to meet your housing targets is ambitious and reflective of the serious need to get more homes built quickly,” Calandra says in his letter.
“In particular, I encourage you to look for opportunities to systematically increase density and align this density with existing and planned transit within your municipality.”
Many of the housing-development-related actions taken by the Ford government since it was re-elected last year, including certain official plan changes, have been seen as — and criticized for — encouraging sprawl, rather than density.
Calandra’s Oct. 23 reversal announcement came as a shock to municipal leaders, developers, and the broader public. It marked the Ford government's second major development-focused policy U-turn in just over a month, with the premier apologizing and promising to reverse his scandal-sunk Greenbelt removals on Sept. 21.
“The process (behind the official plan approvals) is one that I was just not comfortable with,” Calandra told reporters at Queen’s Park on Oct. 23. “I think there was just a little bit too much involvement from individuals within the previous minister's office.”
Some municipal leaders impacted by the official plans’ U-turn were frustrated by it, while others applauded the provincial government for revisiting changes local councils didn’t approve. All, however, were surprised.
“I was very disappointed, pretty much flabbergasted, that the province wouldn't have the courtesy to even reach out to me as the mayor or to my council, or to our city staff and the planning department to give them a heads-up that this was even coming,” Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie said at the time. “So that doesn't bode well for relationships.”
Despite Guthrie’s frustration, several other regional and municipal leaders cheered the move.
"The provincial government moved unilaterally in directions that it clearly regrets. We are pleased that it is changing course to work collaboratively with municipalities on housing," Colin Best, a Milton councillor and president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, said in a statement.
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath, and Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward said they were in favour of the reversal.
David Wilkes, CEO of the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), said his organization was frustrated by it and wasn’t consulted beforehand.
“We really think it will set back the ability to bring future housing and employment spaces to the GTA — and of course, the rest of the province — significantly and put at risk the province’s goal … to achieve a building of 1.5 million homes by 2031,” Wilkes said.
On Monday, a trove of documents related to the official plan and Greenbelt reversals were released by Environmental Defence. The internal notes and communications gave a behind-the-scenes look at the extent to which political staff were involved in the process, overruling civil servant concerns to ensure certain properties were included at developers’ behest.
