Doug Ford pledges $45 million to cut development red tape

During Wednesday’s Ontario-Municipal Summit, Premier Doug Ford pledged $45 million to cut red tape and streamline development approvals across the province.

The funding, announced alongside Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark, will go towards a new Streamline Development Approval Fund to help Ontario’s 39 largest municipalities “modernize, streamline, and accelerate processes for managing and approving housing applications.”

“After a decade of mismanagement and inaction under the previous government, the housing crisis in Ontario will not be solved overnight or in one meeting – addressing housing supply is a long-term strategy that requires long-term commitment, collaboration, and coordination,” Clark said.

“Today’s Summit was an important next step to identify what additional measures we can take to increase the supply of housing and make it easier for Ontarians and their families to find a home that meets their needs and budget. As we continue this dialogue, our government will ensure municipalities have the tools and resources they need to unlock housing in every community across Ontario.”

An additional $8 million is being spent to help large urban municipalities identify potential savings and efficiencies through “third-party reviews” with the goal of further accelerating new housing construction.

Ford also announced a commitment to creating a “data standard” for planning and development applications to further cut red tape and speed up approvals.

“Built with municipalities, data standardization will help improve the quality of data, create consistency across systems, make it easier to measure results, reduce costs for business and governments, and support municipalities’ transition to digital service delivery and digital approvals,” a provincial news release reads.

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Last year, Ford announced the creation of a housing task force comprised of industry, Indigenous housing, economic, and non-profit leaders in providing input on housing solutions for the province as it continues to struggle with rising prices and limited supply.

The day before the summit, Ontario’s NDP party released a list of five “urgent changes” it wanted to see on the table at the housing summit, including stabilizing rent prices, a vacancy tax, changing zoning rules to require that developers include more affordable housing and increased funding for more affordable and supportive housing.