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The bill will also give school boards powers to bypass municipal approvals to add portables or plan for new buildings.

“To be frank, it takes too long and costs too much to build homes in Ontario,” Flack said in Vaughan, where he made the announcement flanked by a number of cabinet ministers and mayors.

“With the escalating population growth we have experienced over the past few years, we have not been able to keep up with the demand for housing in our province,” said Flack, who was named to the portfolio in March. ” 鈥� Demand for housing far exceeds supply, with families and first-time home buyers across Ontario losing hope to achieve their dream of home ownership.”

This “has to change,” he added, saying the legislation comprises “innovative and bold solutions that will help speed up the time it takes to build more homes and infrastructure 鈥� faster, and smarter.”

He said if the status quo remains, the province won’t reach its housing goal, so “we have to make immediate changes, and our focus is in the next 12 to 24 months to get shovels in the ground. But is it forgotten? No way 鈥� we’re not giving up.”

NDP Leader Marit Stiles, however, slammed the government for lack of progress on the file despite being in office for seven years, saying the Ford government “has had more housing bills than actual units built.”

This government, she added, “has failed, very dramatically, to build housing here in the province of Ontario, so they keep putting forward new bills.”

The new rules in Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act were created with the input of municipalities, and for developers, development charges will be paid at the end of construction聽鈥� at occupancy聽鈥� instead of upfront during the permitting process.

Flack has previously said such charges “can’t be punitive.”

Richmond Hill mayor David West says like many other mayors, he understands the housing crisis requires a variety of tools.

鈥淎t the end of the day, we need to find a way to get shovels in the ground and get developers to build,鈥� said West, adding that as details come out, he will be looking for how the province will keep 鈥渕unicipalities whole.鈥�

He said without such, municipalities will not be able to build infrastructure like libraries and parks which are funded by development charges 鈥� and that burden will also fall on the taxpayer.

鈥淒evelopment charges pay for growth, and if we鈥檙e not collecting it or we are discounting it, the money has to come from somewhere. To put it on the taxpayer is not acceptable or practical.鈥�

Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, who heads Ontario Big City Mayors, said the legislation is helpful and based on the recommendations of local leaders.聽

Pushing development charges to the end of construction is great for those in the sector who are “looking for any kind of cash flow relief, and are looking to expand and invest,” she said.聽

“The city will eventually get the money, so I’m not worried about that,” she said, adding that development charge funds “are not stagnant” with money flowing in from multiple projects.

The Ontario Home Builders’ Association said the legislation 鈥渢argets two of the most significant drivers of high housing costs: development charges and permitting and approval delays. Builders across Ontario have long advocated for action on these barriers, which in many cases add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of a new home.鈥�

But Tim Gray, with environmental advocacy group Environmental Defense, said the legislation does little to encourage affordable housing, but is making it cheaper for developers to build. It is also puts more power for planning approvals and decisions 鈥� usually the purview of local government 鈥� into the hands of the province.

鈥淚t feels like more and more that every tiny decision is being made by the provincial government. More power is being concentrated into their hands, and away from municipalities and local government,鈥� said Gray.

At Queen’s Park, Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma told reporters that she and Flack “are of the opinion that we have to do everything possible in order to help stimulate more housing development in the province of Ontario. As you know, the numbers are not looking good for this year” and “we need to prioritize the next 12 to 24 months, and we’re doing that.”

She said while tariffs are having an impact on construction, “the housing numbers are low. Market conditions are not the best. We know that the cost of building is a lot, and we need to do everything we can to help our building partners and our municipalities in order to stimulate housing outcomes.”

Surma, who gains the power to issue Minister’s Zoning Orders聽鈥� also known as MZOs聽鈥� which the housing minister will also continue to be able to do, said consultations and processes will be much faster with two ministers instead of one.

She will be able to issue MZOs in relation to transit-oriented communities, that can also now include GO transit and LRT projects.

The MZO changes are “trying to be more efficient,” she also said.

Since taking office, the Ford government has relied heavily on such orders, which allow the province to override municipal decisions to expedite housing developments. An auditor general report last year found the province used the tool 114 times from 2019 to 2023, a 17-fold increase from the previous 20 years.

In 2022, Premier Doug Ford pledged to build 1.5 million new homes by 2031, but his government has not met yearly targets to achieve that goal.聽