Hopefully, We Are Building A Better Ontario

In late March, Ontario Minister of Finance Bethlenfalvy released the “2024 Budget: Building a Better Ontario.” Among the actions to help make this happen is the investment of $1 billion in the new Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program to pave the way for more homes to be built. Then on April 10, the Ontario government introduced the “Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, 2024” (https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1004422/ontario-cutting-red-tape-to-build-more-homes). This is part of the government’s Spring 2024 Red Tape Reduction Package aimed at helping to keep costs down, save time and improve service delivery for builders, developers and other businesses.

This is something new home builders have been suggesting for many years, as red tape is one of the biggest barriers to construction. The dictates of this act means homes can be built faster at a lower cost. Among the many ways this can happen are enabling home buyers and builders to decide on the number of parking spaces in new residential development near transit, and making it easier to build garden, laneway and basement suites. Another approach will be to streamline approvals for student housing and supporting standardized home designs such as modular homes to reduce delays and costs.

I applaud the Ontario government for acting on this important scenario. Here’s to more homes built faster!