The province is calling for municipalities to send in five ways Ontario could better address the affordable housing crisis, and the Town of Collingwood is choosing to focus on five ideas that would help with infrastructure and incentive funding to reach its goals.
During the Oct. 3 council meeting, councillors voted in favour of submitting their top five ideas out of the Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force recommendations that would help Collingwood build more housing, faster.
All municipalities across Ontario have been called on by the province to submit their list out of the 74 recommendations made by the Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force in their report released in February 2022. As of now, the province has made steps to implement 23 of those recommendations at their level, but are open to hearing from municipalities which of the remaining recommendations would help them achieve their goal to build at least 1.5 million homes by 2031.
“Without significant funding from other orders of government it will be very difficult for the Town of Collingwood and many municipalities throughout Ontario to meaningfully address the affordable housing needs of our community without causing additional pressure on taxpayers, who are already challenged with the rising cost of living,” wrote the town’s housing co-ordinator Jenn Rae in her report to councillors.
Council voted in favour of three of the recommendations put forward by staff: to update the HST rebate, to amend legislation to allow density bonus and allow municipalities without inclusionary zoning to offer incentives for affordable units, and to legislate a clear definition of affordable housing.
Although recommendations were made by town staff to include the recommendation to build necessary infrastructure and to establish an Ontario Housing Delivery Fund, council ultimately voted against including those recommendations on Collingwood’s list.
“The demands of the province for this prioritization are almost untenable because we are being asked to boil down some very complex planning issues into very simple yes-or-no answers,” lamented Doherty.
She noted that the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) has spoken out against the recommendation to build more infrastructure because it encourages urban sprawl. She said the recommendation does not include details on how the infrastructure would be funded.
“I think that’s a rabbit hole we should not go down,” said Doherty.
Coun. Christopher Baines suggested supporting the idea of an affordable housing trust from a portion of land transfer tax revenue. Council voted unanimously in favour of adding the recommendation to their list.
“As much as we all want to deliver affordable housing and build complete communities, we just do not have the financial resources,” said Mayor Yvonne Hamlin. “Unless we start seeing some funds flow from our senior levels of government, we’re just not going to be able to do what we know is best for our community.”
Hamlin put forward a motion to include the recommendation to improve funding for colleges, trade schools and apprenticeships. The province considers this particular recommendation to be accomplished already because they have provided additional funding for such programs. The motion was approved by council.
“While I know the province is doing things, I haven’t noticed anything in our area and I think there’s more that could be done,” said Hamlin.
Council voted in favour of their top five priorities, with an amendment put forward by Doherty to forward Collingwood’s list to AMO. Coun. Chris Potts was absent.
Municipalities are expected to submit their top five priorities to the province by Oct. 16.
To read the entire Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force report including all 74 recommendations, click here.
