Cities protest ‘staggering’ losses Ford government’s Ontario housing bill could cause

Municipal planning staff have predicted that changes proposed under Bill 23 could dramatically increase the rate of property tax residents pay or gut public services.

Big cities across the Greater Toronto Area are convening council meetings — some of them unscheduled emergency events — to table blistering criticism of housing legislation tabled by the Ford government.

Planning staff at local governments, including Markham, Mississauga and Toronto, have lambasted the province’s Bill 23, tabled at the end of October, for the crippling financial impacts it could have on local governments.

At the heart of the criticism is a fear the proposed changes will lead to dramatic property tax increases or a gutting of public services.

“Without other funding sources to make up this shortfall, the financial burden will fall on the property tax base,” a Markham staff report said, estimating property taxes could increase between 50 and 80 per cent just to maintain existing services.

The proposed legislation — named the More Homes Built Faster Act — was tabled on Oct. 25, the day after municipal elections were held across Ontario and has wide-ranging implications for cities.

In an effort to reduce the time and cost of building new housing, it reduces the money and land developers are required to give to cities when they build housing.

The current system of costs for developers, cities argue, ensures that homebuilders pay the costs of providing services for new residents, instead of existing communities footing the bill.

It has passed its second reading and is in committee, meaning changes can still be made to the document that has startled so many municipal governments.