On Tuesday, August 22, 2023, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark announced important changes to appoint regional government facilitators with a focus on growth, housing and infrastructure and reviewing the existing provincial definition of affordable housing. OHBA welcomes these changes to help ensure communities across Ontario are focused on enabling greater housing supply and choice. Please see excerpts on these updates from the provincial news release below,

Regional Facilitators

The province intends to appoint regional facilitators in Durham, Halton, Niagara, Waterloo, York and Simcoe County by September 11, 2023. These facilitators will be tasked with assessing local governance structures in these communities to ensure they are prepared to support future growth and meet the needs of their residents, particularly when it comes to building homes and housing-enabling infrastructure.

Updating the Provincial Definition of Affordable Housing

The government intends to introduce changes to the Development Charges Act that would, if passed, incorporate income factors in addition to market factors in this definition. To ensure low- and moderate-income Ontarians in all parts of the province can find a truly affordable home, affordable homes that meet the province’s definition would be eligible for discounts and exemptions on development-related fees, to help lower the cost of building, purchasing and renting affordable homes across the province.