Newmarket Mayor John Taylor is appearing on TVO’s flagship current affairs program tonight to push back against the province’s housing legislation Bill 23.
Taylor will be a guest on the public broadcaster’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin Jan. 17 to discuss housing affordability and Bill 23, the provincial act meant to speed up housing development.
The bill will see development charges reduced or eliminated for different housing projects that are at 80 per cent of the market rate. In a clip posted ahead of the show, Taylor said that should have been more strictly targeted to the purpose-built rental versus applying to many kinds of development.
“If that was targeted where it should be,” Taylor said. “I would have stood on stage, put my arm around the premier and lit off fireworks … That could have been an effective policy intervention that could have made a real difference in Ontario. This (bill) has many, many challenges to it being effective.”
The bill has garnered widespread municipal opposition with concern about the loss of revenues from reduced development charges. Many municipalities have said it will have a significant property tax impact, though the Town of Newmarket has indicated that will not happen here until 2024.
The show will also feature Waterloo Mayor Dorothy McCabe, joining Taylor to make the case against Bill 23 and argue that it should be amended.
The province has defended the bill as a way to get more housing built when it is in significant need. Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark has said municipalities have plenty of development charges in reserve and assured that municipalities would have the dollars to build out the services for the new development coming.
You can watch the show at 8 p.m. on TVO. It will also be streamed at the same time and be available afterward on the show’s Youtube channel.
