By MPP Bobbi Ann Brady
The annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference has wrapped up in Ottawa.
You may have seen news reports over the past week coming out of AMO that Ontario’s minister of municipal affairs and housing, along with the parliamentary secretary to the federal minister of housing and infrastructure announced that the provincial and federal governments are ponying up $1 billion to help municipalities that don’t levy development charges (DCs), build more homes.
DCs are municipal fees paid by land developers and home builders on new builds and those fees help municipalities build and renew critical infrastructure like roads, water systems, and bridges. The original thinking behind the charges was that “growth should pay for growth.” Sounds great except those charges are passed down to the homebuyer and make a home more expensive. As Ontario and Canada face a protracted housing affordability crisis, development charges have become a political football.
Haldimand County has tackled high DCs by having some of the lowest of those charges in the province. Sitting at around $30,000 for single or semi-detached urban residential units, it comes in much lower than the DCs in places like the Greater Toronto Area where charges run from $100k to $170k.
On the other side of the field, Norfolk County recently announced a proposed $25,000 increase to existing DCs for an average home. Naturally, home builders, real estate agents, and other stakeholders are up in arms about this. In speaking with a local homebuilder, some municipalities are looking for a short-term solution to their problems, which have in many cases been self-inflicted. These problems did not arrive overnight. Tacking on $25,000 and you’re looking at a 97.24 per cent increase by my math. I’m curious what the PC government thinks about this dissenting move.
The question remains if we essentially get rid of development charges, who pays for the infrastructure needed to support growth?
There is only one taxpayer, and in the end, the consumer pays for everything.
Governments at all levels must stop swinging the pendulum uncontrollably and take stock. Extremes are not the answer. There are local governments like Haldimand and Oxford County who are taking a measured positive approach and working with their homebuilders — in the end protecting the homebuyer and taxpayer.
If a healthy approach is taken, local developers and builders who have deep roots in our communities, employ local tradespeople, support local businesses, and are known for quality workmanship, can all benefit. Keep in mind, when a home is built the municipality collects a lifetime of property taxes on that home, which far exceeds the monies collected in an upfront approach.
Speaking of dissent, recently online I was accused of poking the premier in the eye. I prefer to call it respectfully holding things to account. But I was intrigued and frankly encouraged to read Colin D’Mello’s Global News report on a survey conducted with 32 Chief Administrative Officers of municipalities probing their opinions of how lower-tier governments are treated by the province.
The survey conducted by StrategyCorp just before the AMO conference gathered anonymous thoughts on their relationship with the Ford government. As Colin put it, “Top municipal civil servants described a government that’s filled with ambition but falls short on implementation, rushes through the consultation process, and is often “thin-skinned and unforgiving” when faced with criticism.” Another city official’s bit of feedback said “the province doesn’t accept dissent, and you are punished for it.” I know that feeling all too well and can assure you I won’t just fall in line. I am heartened others are beginning to speak out.
As a regular source of constructive criticism for the Ford government, I urge municipal politicians and administrators to join me, come out of the woodwork and raise their voices when voices should be raised. Don’t stay silent under the spectre of punishment. I think a brighter future is built on honest feedback from the folks with their boots on the ground.
Bobbi Ann Brady is the MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk