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Toronto Sun
17-06-2025
- Business
- Toronto Sun
No impact to Toronto's green standard under new Ontario law, city staff say
Published Jun 17, 2025 • Last updated 12 minutes ago • 3 minute read Downtown Toronto waterfront skyline on Oct. 5, 2024. Photo by CYNTHIA MCLEOD / TORONTO SUN A newly released report from city staff says Toronto still has the authority to mandate new buildings meet certain climate and sustainability targets, despite concerns those powers could be undercut by a recent Ontario law. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The report set to go before the city's executive committee today says there's 'no impact' to the city's ability to apply its green standard to new development under the recently passed Bill 17, Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act. Several environmental and industry groups have suggested the law may prevent municipalities from setting standards beyond what's already required in the provincial building code. Toronto's green standard is considered a key plank of the city's climate plan and is touted as a way to make new buildings more resilient to climate-fuelled extreme weather while cutting back on emissions. Among other things, it requires new builds to retain stormwater to prevent flooding during extreme rainfall and have enough tree canopy to help stave off extreme heat. It also requires buildings to meet annual emissions targets, pushing developers to consider low-carbon heating options such as heat pumps over natural gas, and install parking spots for bikes and electric vehicles. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A spokesperson for Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack did not directly say whether the bill would impact Toronto's ability to enforce the standard, but she did say it was adding to building costs and slowing down construction. 'Our government is focused on what the economics support, setting the same rules for everyone to get shovels in the ground to build more homes faster,' Alexandra Sanita wrote in a statement. The Atmospheric Fund, a regional agency that supports climate solutions in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, has suggested green development standards may actually help accelerate development timelines by streamlining sustainability-related planning requirements into a single document with clear expectations. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In a letter to the province, it pointed to data that suggested Toronto and Pickering, two municipalities with green standards, have both seen their approval timelines improve in recent years, although they remain above the national average. Bryan Purcell, a vice-president at The Atmospheric Fund who's worked closely on green standards, says he was 'somewhat surprised' but 'very encouraged' by how definitive the city's position was in the staff report. He says green standards are 'so core' to Toronto's climate objectives that 'we can't really afford to lose it.' But he said the bill had generated enough confusion to possibly stall efforts by municipalities interested in pursuing their own version of the standard. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I think the biggest immediate impact is that I expect to see some slowdown in those cities that were on the path of developing their first green standards,' he said in an interview. The omnibus Bill 17 was rushed through the legislature and passed into law earlier this month before a public comment period closed and without further review by a legislative committee. Changes made under the new provincial law prevent municipalities from passing bylaws respecting the construction or demolition of buildings. Some law firms and regulatory bodies, including the Ontario Association of Architects, have said that change would appear to make green standards obsolete. Others have suggested the province may use the bill to limit what types of studies a city can require from a developer before approving a project. Toronto's green standard, for example, requires a developer to submit an energy modelling report that outlines how the building will keep greenhouse gas emissions in check. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The OAA says green standards should not be lost, adding they help 'everyone understand energy consumption in buildings,' and position Ontario to achieve its climate targets. More than a dozen other Ontario municipalities have used Toronto as a model to come up with their own green standards. While Toronto, Halton Hills and Whitby are among those with mandatory standards, most are voluntary. The Residential Construction Council of Ontario, a vocal critic of the standard, has suggested it's adding to housing costs. RESCON sued Toronto over the standard last year in a case still before the courts. President Richard Lyall called the city staff report set to be discussed Tuesday 'delusional and unsubstantiated.' 'We're going to make our views known to the committee,' he said.
Global News
17-06-2025
- Business
- Global News
No impact to Toronto's green standard under new Ontario law, city staff says
A newly released report from city staff says Toronto still has the authority to mandate new buildings meet certain climate and sustainability targets, despite concerns those powers could be undercut by a recent Ontario law. The report set to go before the city's executive committee today says there's 'no impact' to the city's ability to apply its green standard to new development under the recently passed Bill 17, Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act. Several environmental and industry groups have suggested the law may prevent municipalities from setting standards beyond what's already required in the provincial building code. Toronto's green standard is considered a key plank of the city's climate plan and is touted as a way to make new buildings more resilient to climate-fuelled extreme weather while cutting back on emissions. Among other things, it requires new builds to retain stormwater to prevent flooding during extreme rainfall and have enough tree canopy to help stave off extreme heat. It also requires buildings to meet annual emissions targets, pushing developers to consider low-carbon heating options such as heat pumps over natural gas, and install parking spots for bikes and electric vehicles. Story continues below advertisement A spokesperson for Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack did not directly say whether the bill would impact Toronto's ability to enforce the standard, but she did say it was adding to building costs and slowing down construction. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Our government is focused on what the economics support, setting the same rules for everyone to get shovels in the ground to build more homes faster,' Alexandra Sanita wrote in a statement. The Atmospheric Fund, a regional agency that supports climate solutions in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, has suggested green development standards may actually help accelerate development timelines by streamlining sustainability-related planning requirements into a single document with clear expectations. In a letter to the province, it pointed to data that suggested Toronto and Pickering, two municipalities with green standards, have both seen their approval timelines improve in recent years, although they remain above the national average. Bryan Purcell, a vice-president at The Atmospheric Fund who's worked closely on green standards, says he was 'somewhat surprised' but 'very encouraged' by how definitive the city's position was in the staff report. He says green standards are 'so core' to Toronto's climate objectives that 'we can't really afford to lose it.' But he said the bill had generated enough confusion to possibly stall efforts by municipalities interested in pursuing their own version of the standard. Story continues below advertisement 'I think the biggest immediate impact is that I expect to see some slowdown in those cities that were on the path of developing their first green standards,' he said in an interview. The omnibus Bill 17 was rushed through the legislature and passed into law earlier this month before a public comment period closed and without further review by a legislative committee. Changes made under the new provincial law prevent municipalities from passing bylaws respecting the construction or demolition of buildings. Some law firms and regulatory bodies, including the Ontario Association of Architects, have said that change would appear to make green standards obsolete. Others have suggested the province may use the bill to limit what types of studies a city can require from a developer before approving a project. Toronto's green standard, for example, requires a developer to submit an energy modelling report that outlines how the building will keep greenhouse gas emissions in check. The OAA says green standards should not be lost, adding they help 'everyone understand energy consumption in buildings,' and position Ontario to achieve its climate targets. More than a dozen other Ontario municipalities have used Toronto as a model to come up with their own green standards. While Toronto, Halton Hills and Whitby are among those with mandatory standards, most are voluntary. The Residential Construction Council of Ontario, a vocal critic of the standard, has suggested it's adding to housing costs. RESCON sued Toronto over the standard last year in a case still before the courts. Story continues below advertisement President Richard Lyall called the city staff report set to be discussed Tuesday 'delusional and unsubstantiated.' 'We're going to make our views known to the committee,' he said.
Canada Standard
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Canada Standard
Ontario Legislation Could Override Local Green Standards, Stall Climate Progress
A new Ontario bill could set back green building efforts and mark "the beginning of the end of urban planning" in the province, gutting city-led climate policies as extreme weather risks are rising, warn critics. Bill 17, the proposed Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, would override bylaws like Toronto's Green Standard by "clarifying" that municipalities do not have jurisdiction to set green construction standards. Climate advocates say the measure would stall progress on municipal climate goals while burdening homeowners with higher energy and retrofit costs down the line. The Doug Ford government says the bill will bring regulatory consistency across Ontario, speed up construction, and reduce housing costs. But the provincial building code lacks many of the green features cities like Toronto require, writes The Canadian Press. The Toronto Green Standard, for example, mandates stormwater retention features to reduce flood risk during heavy rainfall, minimum tree canopy coverage to combat extreme heat, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure in new residential parking spaces. The Ford government eliminated that last requirement from its own code shortly after coming to power. The bill follows a legal challenge filed last year by the Residential Construction Council of Ontario-an association of builders-to block Toronto from enforcing standards beyond those set out in the Ontario Building Code. The council was incensed by Toronto's green standards, which aim to improve air quality, transportation, energy usage, water efficiency, and waste diversion with a checklist of requirements for developers of new buildings, reports The Trillium. "These include everything from bicycle parking and pedestrian walkways to energy efficiency targets, trash compaction guidelines, and tree-planting quotas." View our latest digests Bill 17 will gut green building standards implemented in several other cities across Ontario, warn environmental advocates. The bill as it is now written will "set back green building efforts by 15 years," said Bryan Purcell, vice-president of policy and programs at The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), citing the period of time the Toronto Green Standard has been in place. "As buildings are the largest source of carbon emissions in most cities, it would make it impossible for cities to reach their climate targets," Purcell told The Energy Mix . The bill could lock nearly all new buildings into using gas as a primary fuel source, which would saddle home and building owners with higher energy costs while undercutting the economics of green building technology and services. "And it would create huge costs down the road, as retrofitting buildings to get off gas or enable electric vehicle charging is five to 10 times more expensive than building it right to begin with," he added. Other environmental organizations have also warned against the bill. In one recent post, the Toronto Environmental Alliance said the legislation would completely undermine municipal planning authority, leaving cities with few tools to adapt regulations to local conditions. Environmental Defence says the bill claims to address construction challenges, but focuses on "scapegoating municipal policies" instead of fixing the root issues-namely, provincial restrictions against mid-rise developments, which have caused a shortage of family-sized homes. "McMansion" rebuilds and sprawl are further problems, it adds. The Ontario government says its action to block municipal building bylaws is only a "clarification" to existing legislation-in particular, Section 8 of the Building Code Act , the legal foundation of the province's building code-which regulates how building permits are issued. But TAF argues that a city has the right to set green building standards unless they conflict with provincial rules. Purcell points to section 35(1), which he says "is generally interpreted to mean that if a building code requirement actively conflicts with a municipal bylaw, then the building code requirement takes precedence." That section authorizes local municipalities to pass bylaws "respecting the protection or conservation of the environment" in accordance with the provincial codes. A later subsection even specifies that 35(1) gives municipalities power to require green roofs on buildings, but does not address other green standards. By not stating the specific role of municipalities in setting building codes, the Building Code Act creates a grey area that could be interpreted to align with Purcell's reading. But it could also support the government's interpretation. Section 8 states that a building official must issue a permit for a building that meets the requirements of the Building Code Act except in a few prescribed circumstances. The list of exceptions does not include a carve-out for buildings that fail to meet municipal requirements. Municipalities are also considered "creatures of the provinces," and have "no constitutional protection whatsoever against provincial laws that change their structures, functions, and financial resources without their consent," writes the Centre for Excellence on the Canadian Federation. The wider concern is that Bill 17 will amount to a dramatic shift in authority for cities, and not just to manage their building regulations and address climate change. Purcell warns that Bill 17 would "be the beginning of the end of urban planning in Ontario" by instigating legal challenges to existing bylaws across the province, beyond the green building standards. "It could create a wild west type of development environment, where anything can be built anywhere and consultants working for developers approve their own submissions." Source: The Energy Mix
Toronto Star
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Ford government move could see environmental home requirements sacrificed in the name of building faster, cheaper
Toronto and other municipalities are parsing the Ford government's new homebuilding rules to figure out what, if any, local efforts to curb climate change and make communities weather-resilient will survive the legislation. The Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act is highlighting tensions between efforts to address two huge crises — the affordable housing shortage that has people living in overpriced, substandard housing or fleeing Ontario, and climate change, the intense consequences of which, such as increased flooding and deadly heatwaves, are only expected to intensify. Premier Doug Ford's government says municipalities will lose the power to impose requirements upon developers beyond those in the provincial building code. That has triggered confusion and conflicting opinions over what happens to so-called green standards long imposed on builders by Toronto and emulated by several other cities. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'Clear as mud,' Whitby Mayor Elizabeth Roy said of the provision nonetheless being hailed by developers as victory in their political and legal battle to erase a provincial patchwork of requirements, such as new homes having roughed-in wiring for electric vehicles, and large sites having landscaping to reduce flooding and heat buildup, that they blame for construction costs and delays. 'The devil in the details isn't there yet,' Roy told the Star, adding that regulations for Bill 17, when released, should help Whitby and other local governments figure out the fate of requirements, such as having trees on boulevards, that triggered early 'hiccups' but now rarely generate any complaints from homebuilders. Necessary efforts to increase housing supply, Roy said, don't erase the 'absolutely harm for our future,' if builders can erect new subdivisions without measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make homes, roads and other infrastructure more resilient. What is Bill 17? Bill 17, crafted with input from municipalities and developers, aims to fast-track home, road and transit construction with more than 20 changes. They include standardizing the development fees that help municipalities pay for sewers, libraries and other services for the added residents, and ensuring that builders pay those fees when units are occupied rather than upfront during the permit process. Toronto's green standard was introduced in 2006 as voluntary, environmentally friendly building guidelines. Mandatory requirements were added in updates between 2010 and 2022, along with financial incentives for builders who take extra steps that later become required. Required measures now on the block include bicycle parking at new multi-residential buildings, limits on hard surfaces to minimize stormwater runoff, highrise design that allows tenants to recycle rather than put everything in trash, and window glazing on a share of lower-floor windows to minimize strikes that kill birds. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Viewed by the city as a success essential to its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040, the standards and incentives have been replicated, in various forms and stages of development, by other communities, including Mississauga and Caledon. Asked about Bill 17's impact, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow told reporters that 'at first blush it seems like the legislation won't allow anything more than what is in the building code.' She added, though, that city staff are analyzing the legislation and will report their findings to her executive committee next month. Provincial Politics With Ontario's housing starts sliding, Doug Ford insists, 'We're doing everything we can' 'We're doing everything we can,' the premier said, a day after his government's spring 'We're hoping that we can continue to encourage and mandate (developers to build) as energy efficient as possible so that homeowners can burn less (fuel) and pay less,' Chow said. 'That's critically important because we do have a climate crisis.' Two independent sources familiar with city staff's ongoing analysis, but not authorized to speak publicly about it, told the Star there is hope that, depending on the regulations and any amendments made before Bill 17 becomes law, some or even most of Toronto's green building initiatives can survive. The sources could offer no details but noted that Toronto has powers and obligations through other legislation, including the City of Toronto Act and the Planning Act, that can be seen as separate from Ontario building code requirements. Developers take aim at cities The survival of mandatory green rules, however, is not the expectation, nor the desire, of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON), which represents developers of residential buildings. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW RESCON late last year launched a challenge against the City of Toronto, arguing it doesn't have jurisdiction to exceed Ontario's building code, urging a court to strike down the green standard. Association president Richard Lyall told the Star that he reads the province's intention with Bill 17 as doing just that, and said that if the legislation forces Toronto to stick to requirements on developers in the provincial code, RESCON will drop its court challenge. 'We're not anti-green,' Lyall said. 'We do have a housing crisis, it's very real and very complicated, and outside of Vancouver we've got one of the greenest building jurisdictions in North America,' he said, urging municipalities to focus on proposals to strengthen provisions in the provincial building code rather than their own standards. 'Our costs are ridiculously high and supply is plummeting. Toronto can have a voluntary green standard — but not a mandatory one.' Bill 17 was strongly praised by an association representing more than 400 Ontario municipalities as well as several individual mayors, with much of their focus on the commitment to standardize, rather than eliminate, development charges imposed on builders. The province accepted a joint submission on development charges from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Ontario Homebuilders Association that prevents the drastic reduction in municipal revenues dictated by earlier provincial housing reforms. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Some of the supportive mayors are now reckoning with Bill 17's potential impacts on their cities' environmental building requirements. Provincial Politics Ford government denies bill to speed up development will override environmental and Indigenous concerns Premier Doug Ford has said Bill 5 is needed to speed up much-needed investments and projects Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish said in an email that 'green development standards have value in helping municipalities meet climate change objectives but can have unintended impacts on housing supply and affordability.' Her housing task force is investigating changes to the green standards to expedite approvals and provide incentives while city staff work through Bill 17's implications, Parrish said. She added that, while a lack of provincewide standards can increase complexity and cost to a project, 'we would not support complete removal of the (green development standard) initiatives.' Ontario building code 'slow' to adopt green initiatives The Atmospheric Fund, a not-for-profit group focused on helping GTA-Hamilton communities reach net zero goals, rejects arguments that environmental requirements must be scrapped to build homes faster and cheaper. Bryan Purcell, the fund's vice-president of policy and programs, noted that Toronto has exceeded housing targets even as 96 per cent of new residential developments were subject to the green standard. Cancelling requirements increases and transfers long-term costs, such as making homes more fuel-efficient or capable of electric vehicle charging, from developers to homeowners, he said. Some Bill 17 initiatives have merit, such as streamlining approvals for new construction materials, Purcell said, but 'we are concerned that the legislation as drafted will constrain cities ability to implement green development standards and address other community priorities...' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW While developers say new green requirements should be imposed provincewide through Ontario's building code, Bill 17 includes no proposal to do that. A University of Toronto expert on building science says that relying on the Ford government to impose green rules on new homes might not be sufficient. 'The problem is that the (Ontario) building code is very, very slow to adopt some of the climate resilience requirements that are being recommended and that have been adopted in other jurisdictions,' said Prof. Ted Kesik. 'Ontario has been quite reticent in keeping up with those, and that's why I think the municipalities have gone ahead and done their own thing.' With files from Mahdis Habibinia
Hamilton Spectator
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Ford government move could see environmental home requirements sacrificed in the name of building faster, cheaper
Toronto and other municipalities are parsing the Ford government's new homebuilding rules to figure out what, if any, local efforts to curb climate change and make communities weather-resilient will survive the legislation. The Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act is highlighting tensions between efforts to address two huge crises — the affordable housing shortage that has people living in overpriced, substandard housing or fleeing Ontario, and climate change , the intense consequences of which, such as increased flooding and deadly heatwaves , are only expected to intensify. Premier Doug Ford's government says municipalities will lose the power to impose requirements upon developers beyond those in the provincial building code. That has triggered confusion and conflicting opinions over what happens to so-called green standards long imposed on builders by Toronto and emulated by several other cities. 'Clear as mud,' Whitby Mayor Elizabeth Roy said of the provision nonetheless being hailed by developers as victory in their political and legal battle to erase a provincial patchwork of requirements, such as new homes having roughed-in wiring for electric vehicles, and large sites having landscaping to reduce flooding and heat buildup, that they blame for construction costs and delays. 'The devil in the details isn't there yet,' Roy told the Star, adding that regulations for Bill 17, when released, should help Whitby and other local governments figure out the fate of requirements, such as having trees on boulevards, that triggered early 'hiccups' but now rarely generate any complaints from homebuilders. Necessary efforts to increase housing supply, Roy said, don't erase the 'absolutely harm for our future,' if builders can erect new subdivisions without measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make homes, roads and other infrastructure more resilient. Bill 17, crafted with input from municipalities and developers, aims to fast-track home, road and transit construction with more than 20 changes. They include standardizing the development fees that help municipalities pay for sewers, libraries and other services for the added residents, and ensuring that builders pay those fees when units are occupied rather than upfront during the permit process. Toronto's green standard was introduced in 2006 as voluntary, environmentally friendly building guidelines. Mandatory requirements were added in updates between 2010 and 2022, along with financial incentives for builders who take extra steps that later become required. Required measures now on the block include bicycle parking at new multi-residential buildings, limits on hard surfaces to minimize stormwater runoff, highrise design that allows tenants to recycle rather than put everything in trash, and window glazing on a share of lower-floor windows to minimize strikes that kill birds. Viewed by the city as a success essential to its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040, the standards and incentives have been replicated, in various forms and stages of development, by other communities, including Mississauga and Caledon. Asked about Bill 17's impact, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow told reporters that 'at first blush it seems like the legislation won't allow anything more than what is in the building code.' She added, though, that city staff are analyzing the legislation and will report their findings to her executive committee next month. 'We're doing everything we can,' the premier said, a day after his government's spring 'We're hoping that we can continue to encourage and mandate (developers to build) as energy efficient as possible so that homeowners can burn less (fuel) and pay less,' Chow said. 'That's critically important because we do have a climate crisis.' Two independent sources familiar with city staff's ongoing analysis, but not authorized to speak publicly about it, told the Star there is hope that, depending on the regulations and any amendments made before Bill 17 becomes law, some or even most of Toronto's green building initiatives can survive. The sources could offer no details but noted that Toronto has powers and obligations through other legislation, including the City of Toronto Act and the Planning Act, that can be seen as separate from Ontario building code requirements. The survival of mandatory green rules, however, is not the expectation, nor the desire, of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON), which represents developers of residential buildings. RESCON late last year launched a challenge against the City of Toronto , arguing it doesn't have jurisdiction to exceed Ontario's building code, urging a court to strike down the green standard. Association president Richard Lyall told the Star that he reads the province's intention with Bill 17 as doing just that, and said that if the legislation forces Toronto to stick to requirements on developers in the provincial code, RESCON will drop its court challenge. 'We're not anti-green,' Lyall said. 'We do have a housing crisis, it's very real and very complicated, and outside of Vancouver we've got one of the greenest building jurisdictions in North America,' he said, urging municipalities to focus on proposals to strengthen provisions in the provincial building code rather than their own standards. 'Our costs are ridiculously high and supply is plummeting. Toronto can have a voluntary green standard — but not a mandatory one.' Bill 17 was strongly praised by an association representing more than 400 Ontario municipalities as well as several individual mayors, with much of their focus on the commitment to standardize, rather than eliminate, development charges imposed on builders. The province accepted a joint submission on development charges from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Ontario Homebuilders Association that prevents the drastic reduction in municipal revenues dictated by earlier provincial housing reforms . Some of the supportive mayors are now reckoning with Bill 17's potential impacts on their cities' environmental building requirements. Premier Doug Ford has said Bill 5 is needed to speed up much-needed investments and projects Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish said in an email that 'green development standards have value in helping municipalities meet climate change objectives but can have unintended impacts on housing supply and affordability.' Her housing task force is investigating changes to the green standards to expedite approvals and provide incentives while city staff work through Bill 17's implications, Parrish said. She added that, while a lack of provincewide standards can increase complexity and cost to a project, 'we would not support complete removal of the (green development standard) initiatives.' The Atmospheric Fund, a not-for-profit group focused on helping GTA-Hamilton communities reach net zero goals, rejects arguments that environmental requirements must be scrapped to build homes faster and cheaper. Bryan Purcell, the fund's vice-president of policy and programs, noted that Toronto has exceeded housing targets even as 96 per cent of new residential developments were subject to the green standard. Cancelling requirements increases and transfers long-term costs, such as making homes more fuel-efficient or capable of electric vehicle charging, from developers to homeowners, he said. Some Bill 17 initiatives have merit, such as streamlining approvals for new construction materials, Purcell said, but 'we are concerned that the legislation as drafted will constrain cities ability to implement green development standards and address other community priorities...' While developers say new green requirements should be imposed provincewide through Ontario's building code, Bill 17 includes no proposal to do that. A University of Toronto expert on building science says that relying on the Ford government to impose green rules on new homes might not be sufficient. 'The problem is that the (Ontario) building code is very, very slow to adopt some of the climate resilience requirements that are being recommended and that have been adopted in other jurisdictions,' said Prof. Ted Kesik. 'Ontario has been quite reticent in keeping up with those, and that's why I think the municipalities have gone ahead and done their own thing.'
