Latest news with #AlexandraSanita
Canada Standard
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Canada Standard
Green Building Standards Unaffected by Controversial Provincial Legislation, Toronto Says
After Ontario's Bill 17 was fast tracked to royal assent, Toronto city staff say the new legislation won't affect the city's standards for green buildings. The Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act was rushed through to approval June 3 without the typical public hearings and standing committee review. It drew opposition for provisions that some organizations said would strip municipalities of their power to enforce green building standards-rules requiring developers to design buildings in ways that conserve water and energy and cut greenhouse gas emissions, for example. Cities like Toronto have relied on the Municipal Act and the City of Toronto Act to support standards like its Toronto Green Standard (TGS). But that authority was based on a "grey area" of the provincial Building Code Act that was "generally interpreted to mean that if a building code requirement actively conflicts with a municipal bylaw, then the building code requirement takes precedence," Bryan Purcell, vice-president of policy and programs at The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), told The Energy Mix in May. Organizations like TAF warned that Bill 17 risked undermining that authority by clarifying the grey area. With the new legislation, the Building Code Act now states that "certain sections of the Municipal Act, 2001 and the City of Toronto Act, 2006 do not authorize a municipality to pass by-laws respecting the construction or demolition of buildings." View our latest digests Alexandra Sanita, a spokesperson for Ontario's municipal affairs and housing minister Rob Flack, said in a statement to The Narwhal that the legislation "standardizes construction requirements and provides consistency, clarifying that no municipality has the authority to enforce a by-law that supersedes the Ontario Building Code." "Through these changes, the City of Toronto's Tier 1 of the Green Building Standard would not be allowed as they mandate requirements for new development planning applications that go beyond the Ontario building code." Tier 1 is a list of mandatory green building requirements. Other tiers, which set incentives but are not mandatory, would still be allowed. But Toronto city staff later released an assessment of the Act's impacts. They determined that "there is no impact to the City's ability to continue to apply the TGS to new development." When asked how the Act's impacts on other legislation, like the Municipal Act , might affect the TGS, the City told The Energy Mix it "cannot provide further comment on the topic at this time" because of legal action against the TGS filed last year. Comments submitted to the legislature by the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) state that the new amendment does not change the legislative powers of the province to set construction standards, and that municipalities can pass by-laws in pursuit of economic, social, and environmental, including for climate change. "Municipal action in pursuit of those listed goals, as long as they do not require specific construction standards, will not conflict or overlap with provincial authority," says CELA. However, CELA criticizes other parts of the Act that limit cities' access to information about new buildings. Source: The Energy Mix
Canada News.Net
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Canada News.Net
Green Building Standards Unaffected by Controversial Provincial Legislation, Toronto Says
After Ontario's Bill 17 was fast tracked to royal assent, Toronto city staff say the new legislation won't affect the city's standards for green buildings. The Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act was rushed through to approval June 3 without the typical public hearings and standing committee review. It drew opposition for provisions that some organizations said would strip municipalities of their power to enforce green building standards-rules requiring developers to design buildings in ways that conserve water and energy and cut greenhouse gas emissions, for example. Cities like Toronto have relied on the Municipal Act and the City of Toronto Act to support standards like its Toronto Green Standard (TGS). But that authority was based on a "grey area" of the provincial Building Code Act that was "generally interpreted to mean that if a building code requirement actively conflicts with a municipal bylaw, then the building code requirement takes precedence," Bryan Purcell, vice-president of policy and programs at The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), told The Energy Mix in May. Organizations like TAF warned that Bill 17 risked undermining that authority by clarifying the grey area. With the new legislation, the Building Code Act now states that "certain sections of the Municipal Act, 2001 and the City of Toronto Act, 2006 do not authorize a municipality to pass by-laws respecting the construction or demolition of buildings." View our latest digests Alexandra Sanita, a spokesperson for Ontario's municipal affairs and housing minister Rob Flack, said in a statement to The Narwhal that the legislation "standardizes construction requirements and provides consistency, clarifying that no municipality has the authority to enforce a by-law that supersedes the Ontario Building Code." "Through these changes, the City of Toronto's Tier 1 of the Green Building Standard would not be allowed as they mandate requirements for new development planning applications that go beyond the Ontario building code." Tier 1 is a list of mandatory green building requirements. Other tiers, which set incentives but are not mandatory, would still be allowed. But Toronto city staff later released an assessment of the Act's impacts. They determined that "there is no impact to the City's ability to continue to apply the TGS to new development." When asked how the Act's impacts on other legislation, like the Municipal Act, might affect the TGS, the City told The Energy Mix it "cannot provide further comment on the topic at this time" because of legal action against the TGS filed last year. Comments submitted to the legislature by the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) state that the new amendment does not change the legislative powers of the province to set construction standards, and that municipalities can pass by-laws in pursuit of economic, social, and environmental, including for climate change. "Municipal action in pursuit of those listed goals, as long as they do not require specific construction standards, will not conflict or overlap with provincial authority," says CELA. However, CELA criticizes other parts of the Act that limit cities' access to information about new buildings.
23-06-2025
- Business
Ontario needs to build more than 2 million homes in the next decade: internal docs
Ontario's target of building 1.5 million homes by 2031 may not be enough to meet demand, civil servants have told the province's new municipal affairs minister, saying that 2.1 million homes could instead be needed to improve affordability. The estimates come in briefing materials provided to Minister Rob Flack, as he took on the new portfolio in March. The document, obtained by CBC News through a freedom of information request, suggests the range of new homes Ontario needs could be as much as 600,000 higher than the current target set by the Progressive Conservative government. It is estimated that between 1.5 million to 2.1 million new homes will need to be built in Ontario over roughly the next decade, based on assessments of the current housing supply shortfall and/or projected population growth, the public servants wrote. The government set its 1.5 million home target in 2022 after its housing task force recommended (new window) the goal. The civil servants say they drew the high end estimates from a 2023 Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation look at the housing demand (new window) and supply gap, which they say takes into account what it would require to bring the market to 2003 levels of affordability. The briefing document also charts an approximately 1.2 million person surge in the province's population since 2021, which has contributed to housing needs. During that same period, it notes home starts have been on a steady decline, not hitting the yearly 100,000 required to meet the government's target. Plans for new supply have been challenged by high land and material costs, government fees and charges, shortages of skilled trades labour, labour disputes, supply chain issues and a backlog in housing-enabling municipal infrastructure, the civil servants wrote. WATCH | Government tables new bill aimed at speeding up housing construction: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Ontario government tables new bill aimed at solving housing crisis Ontario's housing minister has announced a plan aimed at solving the housing crisis. The new legislation, which would speed up new home construction while lowering costs for developers, was tabled on Monday. A spokesperson for the minister did not directly answer questions about the higher housing demand range provided by the civil servants. Instead, Alexandra Sanita said in a statement that the government is spending $2.3 million over four years to help municipalities build the infrastructure they need for new homes. Earlier this month, the province passed its latest measures to accelerate home construction, Bill 17. The law allows builders to defer development charges until completion of a project and reduces the number of municipal studies required for new housing. During the news event to announce the bill, Flack didn't mention the 1.5 million home goal until he was asked about it by CBC News. It's a goal, but frankly I'm more focused, and our team is focused more, on the next 12 to 24 months, because if it stays the way it is now, we'll never get there, he responded. But is it forgotten? No way. Opposition calls for analysis of government housing plans Last week, Ontario's Financial Accountability Office released an economic update which highlighted the continued drop in housing construction. It found that 12,700 units were started in Ontario during the first three months of the year, a 20 per cent drop from the 15,900 units started in the first quarter of 2024. NDP housing critic Catherine McKenney has called on the watchdog to dig into the government's housing plan. We really need to hear from this government, said McKenney. Is housing still a priority? Ontario needs to hit the high end of the housing range provided by the civil service and do that by getting back in the business of building deeply affordable, non-profit, co-op and supportive housing, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said. It is increasingly being confirmed that the Ford government has abandoned building homes people can afford, he said. Housing targets 'in no danger' of being reached, experts say Richard Lyall, president of Residential Construction Council of Ontario, said he would support an increased target to 2.1 million homes, but at the current rate, the province won't even come close to hitting its original goal because its plan hasn't been effective. All governments need to lower fees for builders, he said. Whether it's the federal target, provincial target, City of Toronto target, they're in no danger of being hit, he said. And part of that is because when you set a target like that you have to break it down and work it backwards.' All levels of government should focus on building more modular homes, cutting municipal development charges, making cities whole for lost revenue, and freeing up public lands for housing at a low cost or for free, said Karen Chapple, director of the University of Toronto's School of Cities. But Chapple said the province needs to be realistic about its housing targets. People just kind of laugh now at that 1.5 million target, she said. York University professor of environmental and urban change Mark Winfield is skeptical of the government's 1.5 million home housing target (new window) because it doesn't break down types of housing required in the province. With cuts to federal immigration levels, declining home sales and a glut of unsold condos on the market, it's time for the government to rethink its strategy, he said. WATCH | Understanding the condo market: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Why the condo market is plummeting during a housing crisis The condo market in two of Canada's big cities has taken a major downturn. CBC's Nisha Patel breaks down three reasons why condos aren't selling in the middle of a housing crisis. I find it a little hard to compute how you could possibly come up with those kinds of numbers, and indeed, how you could possibly build that many housing units if you wanted to, Winfield said. While home sales and interest rates have dropped and increased affordability for buyers, this might be temporary, said Jason Mercer, chief information officer for the Toronto and Region Real Estate Board. At some point down the road, we're going to see the demand for housing pick up, Mercer said. If we don't have enough supply in the pipeline because we took our foot off the gas from a policy perspective … we're just going to get into this vicious circle where we go from having a lot of inventory to having none at all and these volatile price swings. Shawn Jeffords (new window) · CBC News
Global News
17-06-2025
- Business
- Global News
No impact to Toronto's green standard under new Ontario law, city staff says
A newly released report from city staff says Toronto still has the authority to mandate new buildings meet certain climate and sustainability targets, despite concerns those powers could be undercut by a recent Ontario law. The report set to go before the city's executive committee today says there's 'no impact' to the city's ability to apply its green standard to new development under the recently passed Bill 17, Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act. Several environmental and industry groups have suggested the law may prevent municipalities from setting standards beyond what's already required in the provincial building code. Toronto's green standard is considered a key plank of the city's climate plan and is touted as a way to make new buildings more resilient to climate-fuelled extreme weather while cutting back on emissions. Among other things, it requires new builds to retain stormwater to prevent flooding during extreme rainfall and have enough tree canopy to help stave off extreme heat. It also requires buildings to meet annual emissions targets, pushing developers to consider low-carbon heating options such as heat pumps over natural gas, and install parking spots for bikes and electric vehicles. Story continues below advertisement A spokesperson for Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack did not directly say whether the bill would impact Toronto's ability to enforce the standard, but she did say it was adding to building costs and slowing down construction. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Our government is focused on what the economics support, setting the same rules for everyone to get shovels in the ground to build more homes faster,' Alexandra Sanita wrote in a statement. The Atmospheric Fund, a regional agency that supports climate solutions in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, has suggested green development standards may actually help accelerate development timelines by streamlining sustainability-related planning requirements into a single document with clear expectations. In a letter to the province, it pointed to data that suggested Toronto and Pickering, two municipalities with green standards, have both seen their approval timelines improve in recent years, although they remain above the national average. Bryan Purcell, a vice-president at The Atmospheric Fund who's worked closely on green standards, says he was 'somewhat surprised' but 'very encouraged' by how definitive the city's position was in the staff report. He says green standards are 'so core' to Toronto's climate objectives that 'we can't really afford to lose it.' But he said the bill had generated enough confusion to possibly stall efforts by municipalities interested in pursuing their own version of the standard. Story continues below advertisement 'I think the biggest immediate impact is that I expect to see some slowdown in those cities that were on the path of developing their first green standards,' he said in an interview. The omnibus Bill 17 was rushed through the legislature and passed into law earlier this month before a public comment period closed and without further review by a legislative committee. Changes made under the new provincial law prevent municipalities from passing bylaws respecting the construction or demolition of buildings. Some law firms and regulatory bodies, including the Ontario Association of Architects, have said that change would appear to make green standards obsolete. Others have suggested the province may use the bill to limit what types of studies a city can require from a developer before approving a project. Toronto's green standard, for example, requires a developer to submit an energy modelling report that outlines how the building will keep greenhouse gas emissions in check. The OAA says green standards should not be lost, adding they help 'everyone understand energy consumption in buildings,' and position Ontario to achieve its climate targets. More than a dozen other Ontario municipalities have used Toronto as a model to come up with their own green standards. While Toronto, Halton Hills and Whitby are among those with mandatory standards, most are voluntary. The Residential Construction Council of Ontario, a vocal critic of the standard, has suggested it's adding to housing costs. RESCON sued Toronto over the standard last year in a case still before the courts. Story continues below advertisement President Richard Lyall called the city staff report set to be discussed Tuesday 'delusional and unsubstantiated.' 'We're going to make our views known to the committee,' he said.
Hamilton Spectator
17-06-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
No impact to Toronto's green standard under new Ontario law, city staff says
TORONTO - A newly released report from city staff says Toronto still has the authority to mandate new buildings meet certain climate and sustainability targets, despite concerns those powers could be undercut by a recent Ontario law. The report set to go before the city's executive committee today says there's 'no impact' to the city's ability to apply its green standard to new development under the recently passed Bill 17, Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act. Several environmental and industry groups have suggested the law may prevent municipalities from setting standards beyond what's already required in the provincial building code. Toronto's green standard is considered a key plank of the city's climate plan and is touted as a way to make new buildings more resilient to climate-fuelled extreme weather while cutting back on emissions. Among other things, it requires new builds to retain stormwater to prevent flooding during extreme rainfall and have enough tree canopy to help stave off extreme heat. It also requires buildings to meet annual emissions targets, pushing developers to consider low-carbon heating options such as heat pumps over natural gas, and install parking spots for bikes and electric vehicles. A spokesperson for Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack did not directly say whether the bill would impact Toronto's ability to enforce the standard, but she did say it was adding to building costs and slowing down construction. 'Our government is focused on what the economics support, setting the same rules for everyone to get shovels in the ground to build more homes faster,' Alexandra Sanita wrote in a statement. The Atmospheric Fund, a regional agency that supports climate solutions in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, has suggested green development standards may actually help accelerate development timelines by streamlining sustainability-related planning requirements into a single document with clear expectations. In a letter to the province, it pointed to data that suggested Toronto and Pickering, two municipalities with green standards, have both seen their approval timelines improve in recent years, although they remain above the national average. Bryan Purcell, a vice-president at The Atmospheric Fund who's worked closely on green standards, says he was 'somewhat surprised' but 'very encouraged' by how definitive the city's position was in the staff report. He says green standards are 'so core' to Toronto's climate objectives that 'we can't really afford to lose it.' But he said the bill had generated enough confusion to possibly stall efforts by municipalities interested in pursuing their own version of the standard. 'I think the biggest immediate impact is that I expect to see some slowdown in those cities that were on the path of developing their first green standards,' he said in an interview. The omnibus Bill 17 was rushed through the legislature and passed into law earlier this month before a public comment period closed and without further review by a legislative committee. Changes made under the new provincial law prevent municipalities from passing bylaws respecting the construction or demolition of buildings. Some law firms and regulatory bodies, including the Ontario Association of Architects, have said that change would appear to make green standards obsolete. Others have suggested the province may use the bill to limit what types of studies a city can require from a developer before approving a project. Toronto's green standard, for example, requires a developer to submit an energy modelling report that outlines how the building will keep greenhouse gas emissions in check. The OAA says green standards should not be lost, adding they help 'everyone understand energy consumption in buildings,' and position Ontario to achieve its climate targets. More than a dozen other Ontario municipalities have used Toronto as a model to come up with their own green standards. While Toronto, Halton Hills and Whitby are among those with mandatory standards, most are voluntary. The Residential Construction Council of Ontario, a vocal critic of the standard, has suggested it's adding to housing costs. RESCON sued Toronto over the standard last year in a case still before the courts. President Richard Lyall called the city staff report set to be discussed Tuesday 'delusional and unsubstantiated.' 'We're going to make our views known to the committee,' he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
