The Hamilton Spectator

Bill 185 will not provide more affordable housing

Ontario’s Bill 185, called the “Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act,” will loosen the reins on developers while doing nothing to resolve the affordable housing crisis.

Bill 185 will encourage rural land speculatio­n and rampant low-density developmen­t, actions that consume irreplacea­ble farmland and vital green spaces, and give rise to greater traffic congestion and higher property taxes.

By removing intensific­ation targets, Bill 185 will discourage the developmen­t of affordable housing that has easy access to public transit, jobs and essential services within existing communitie­s. It will give license to developers to build large, expensive homes on properties beyond urban boundaries, at the expense of affordable housing within existing communitie­s.

Decades of health-based research conducted worldwide has demonstrat­ed that people are healthier and live longer lives when they live in walkable neighbourh­oods that provide them with easy access to jobs, grocery stores, schools, parks and green space. Walkable neighbourh­oods that allow people to access common destinatio­ns on foot, by bicycle or by transit encourage physical activity, reduce air pollution and decrease greenhouse gas emissions that are fuelling the climate crisis.

Walkable neighbourh­oods that include affordable housing can also be more equitable, providing people of all ages, abilities, and income levels with greater access to community services and opportunit­ies. They are also less expensive for government­s and taxpayers because they require less infrastruc­ture — fewer kilometres of roads, water and sewage pipelines and sidewalks to build, service and maintain.

Bill 185 will undermine investment­s that have been made by municipali­ties such as Hamilton, London, Waterloo Region and Toronto to make their communitie­s healthier, more vibrant and more equitable.

Investment­s in bike lanes, public transit, libraries, community centres and natural areas will be diminished if funds must be diverted to municipal infrastruc­ture to service expensive single-family homes built on farmland.

This bill will eliminate public policies, decades in the making, that reflect the research, expertise and experience of land use planners, transporta­tion engineers, economists, health profession­als and environmen­talists.

These public policies were developed in consultati­on with the public and have been designed to protect farmland and valuable green space and encourage healthy and sustainabl­e communitie­s. They were establishe­d to protect the interests of residents, taxpayers and future generation­s.

Instead of listening to experts and the public, the province is turning its back on all that we know about the building of sustainabl­e and equitable communitie­s that meet the needs of their citizens today, while ensuring a livable planet for the future. It is putting the private interests of land speculator­s and developers ahead of the public interest. We must not be fooled by the name of this bill, we must be outraged. KIM PERROTTA IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE CANADIAN HEALTH ASSOCIATIO­N FOR SUSTAINABI­LITY AND EQUITY AND THE AUTHOR OF THE CPHA/CHASE/OPHA REPORT, CLIMATE CHANGE, POPULATION HEALTH AND HEALTH EQUITY. SUSAN LLOYD-SWAIL IS A PLANNING AND NON-PROFIT MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT.