Now that the dust has settled from the provincial election, it is time to begin the process of fixing our planning approvals system to bring down costs and speed up construction of new housing. Sadly, the labyrinth of approvals and permits that builders of new homes must go through to get shovels in the ground, especially at a time when we are in the midst of a housing crisis, is perplexing.
In Toronto, projects are supposed to be cleared in 90 days, but approvals are taking beyond 600 days to process. In some municipalities, the period for development approval processes can extend into years. Ultimately, this adds hefty financing costs to projects that are ultimately borne by consumers.
The bottom line here is that we need to find ways to expedite the planning and development approvals process. With Premier Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservative Party having been elected to another majority government in Ontario, it is time to reset the dial and focus on the approvals process.
In many Ontario municipalities, obtaining development approvals can take years. Protracted planning processes delay construction and result in hefty project financing costs that add to the price tag. While planning approvals processes for items such as Official Plan amendments have timelines established by the province, they are simply not enforced or adhered to at the municipal level.
The Ontario Land Tribunal can adjudicate matters related to land use planning if a municipality fails to make a timely decision or reject an application, but the option is too lengthy and costly. Certain municipalities also have mandatory Pre-Application Consultation requirements in place but instead of creating barriers for development applicants to overcome, municipalities need to instead be accountable and respect legislated timeframes.
We need more transparency in the system. Municipalities should be required to publicly report and post quarterly development approval metrics, which will allow the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to audit and monitor municipalities’ ability to meet legislated timeframes. If a municipality is unable to meet legislated timeframes, the province should mandate that the municipality undergo a third-party regulatory overview. The review would re-evaluate how the municipality conducts its internal development and ultimately bring them into compliance.
Premier Ford and his team have indicated that we need to redouble efforts to remove unnecessary red tape, leverage new technologies and bring in systemic reforms to build faster and smarter, especially in light of the existential threat posed by the tariffs of Donald Trump. The PC Party plan states that it is more critical than ever to achieve the fastest permitting for projects in the G7 by overhauling Ontario’s outdated and cumbersome permitting and approvals processes. These often take years longer than processes in the U.S. and other G7 nations.
Specifically, the Premier promised to rebuild the permitting process from the ground up, remove anything unnecessary, outdated or redundant that put us at a timeline disadvantage to any other G7 national or subnational jurisdiction, including by further streamlining Ontario’s environmental assessment process, eliminating federal redundancies and harmonizing and bringing common sense conservation principles to species-at-risk requirements. He also pledged to deputize a permitting and approvals czar that would focus on clearing the pathway for new investments and sectors such as mining, manufacturing and infrastructure projects.
To build homes faster, the Premier plans to standardize development study requirements across Ontario, develop a province-wide tool to accelerate land-use planning and building code permit approvals, and ensure all municipal standards are in compliance with the building code. He’ll also be putting $50 million towards supporting more factory-built homes and innovative home building technology. Additionally, Ford noted the government will tap early leaders like Vaughan, London, and Mississauga to bring a rational, common-sense and sustainable approach to development charges.
This is certainly welcome as development charges and related taxes and fees on low-rise housing have increased by an average of 33 per cent across Canada in the last two years. When it comes to taxes on low- and high-rise housing, the GTA has the highest fees anywhere in Canada. Toronto increased development charges for single and semi-detached homes by 464 per cent from 2014 to 2024, whereas incomes in Ontario only went up 29 per cent over the same period.
Our dysfunctional system of unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy is self-inflicted and choking all aspects of our economy. It is also causing lengthy delays and preventing construction of housing. That must change.