The Towns of Newmarket and Aurora are expressing disappointment that the federal government is not granting Northern York municipalities funding from a vaunted federal housing accelerator.
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor confirmed the town would not receive anything from the $4-billion fund going to municipalities across the country. The fund is meant to help speed up housing development, with the federal government estimating that the program will fast-track 107,000 homes in the first three years.
But that will not be the case in the northern York Region. Taylor said it was disappointing and questioned the criteria and amount of funding overall.
“The amount of funds dedicated to this program were of a nature that, it would appear, not be enough to accommodate all municipalities,” he said. “I would have preferred to see a program that treated municipalities equally and perhaps on a per-capita basis.”
The government announced 179 final agreements under the program, out of 540 applicants. It said these agreements would result in 750,000 homes over the next decade and the government said cities across Canada that include “more ambitious measures” improved their chance to receive federal support.
“The housing accelerator fund is going to help make it easier to build the homes that Canadians need at prices they can afford. There is more work to do, but this program has dramatically changed how communities build homes,” Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser said in a March 4 news release.
But the idea that more ambitious programs would get the dollars was not necessarily at the forefront of the application process, Taylor said. He said it is wrong for both provincial and federal governments to tie funding to units built, given that it is developers that generally decide when shovels hit the ground.
“I don’t want to pretend there isn’t a role for municipalities to try to be more ambitious, to try to review policy,” Taylor said. “But we need to understand that if federal and provincial governments are going to provide funding based on outcomes, for which municipalities by and large do not have control over, by its very nature it’s flawed.”
Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas released a statement blasting the federal government over the fund not providing anything to York Region’s northern six municipalities.
He suggested that the federal government politicized the decision.
“Given the enormity and urgency of the housing crisis in communities across this country, I am deeply dismayed by the federal government's decision to politicize such a critical issue as housing. It's disheartening to see them withhold taxpayer funds from municipalities with strong applications, while seemingly favouring those that align with their political agenda,” Mrakas said.
Mrakas added that York Region is one of the fastest growing areas of the province.
“This decision neglects the urgent need for resources to accelerate growth and address housing challenges in these areas. Unfortunately, with the federal government turning a blind eye to the needs of our rapidly growing communities,” Mrakas said.
Newmarket-Aurora Liberal MP Tony Van Bynen said the statement from Mrakas is surprising, particularly the idea that the government is politicizing decisions. He noted that the Liberal Party holds six of 10 ridings in York Region.
“Aurora has two Liberal members both of whom are always available, if asked, to support worthwhile investments into the community,” Van Bynen said. “The housing accelerator has funded projects in 179 communities across Canada. In fact, over 540 municipalities applied but funding has allowed only about a third to receive approval. It is my hope, given the initial success of the program, that more funding might be made available. I am certainly willing to advocate on Aurora’s behalf going forward.”
Newmarket, Aurora and most York Region municipalities may also miss out on the provincial government’s $1.2-billion fund for municipalities to build infrastructure, for not meeting the province's mandated housing targets.
Taylor said municipalities are committed to building housing. He noted the case of East Gwillimbury, the fastest growing municipality in the country between 2016 and 2021, not receiving housing accelerator funding or meeting the province’s housing targets for funding in 2023, despite being no less willing to develop.
“I would urge both the federal government and provincial government to rethink their programs and their approaches,” Taylor said. “Not to hand out dollars and grants and funding in what is, I think fair to describe, as a bit of a random manner. Random because it's rewarding or punishing municipalities based on something they don’t control.”
