Can Bill 23 Impact Ontario’s Housing Crisis?

Bisanti. “Private sector money has to be earning reasonable returns [on investment].”

By Serena Austin

It’s no secret that Canada is facing a housing crisis. As housing costs continue to soar beyond what’s considered affordable to many, now, more than ever, it’s important to consider the factors driving the crisis both on a national and local level.

“What we’re going through right now with a combined interest rate hike and the lack of supply of new housing units on the markets, is contributing to a quickly getting out of control pricing paradigm that we’re in,” said Paul Bisanti, President of the Chamber of Commerce Brantford-Brant.

In his private sector role, Bisanti works as a residential real estate developer where he’s seen the price of land and construction increase year after year. These price hikes have affected the rental market too.

“It really fostered that unaffordability factor for a lot of people,” said David DeDominicis, President of the Brantford Regional Real Estate Association (BRREA). “As an industry, we don’t see rent coming down anytime soon because the supply is still very tight.”

Bisanti typically spends around two to three years on planning and design work before construction can start.

“All that planning and design work has to happen before I sell a single unit,” he said. Because of this, it’s unrealistic to expect the private sector to build houses for those who can’t afford what’s already on the market, said

In effort to address the housing crisis in Ontario, In November, the Ford government passed Bill 23, the More Homes Built Better Faster Act. A piece of legislation meant to support the construction of 1.5 million homes over the next decade with the removal of developer fees paid to municipalities as incentive.

“It’s going to propose a tremendous challenge for municipalities to adjust to,” said Bisanti. Some municipalities such as Hamilton, Milton and Mississauga have spoken out against the act for fears that it may do more harm than good.

Brantford and Brant are forward thinking, said Bisanti, and have been working with developers to get housing projects started. “Is it going to be enough to address Bill 23 — I don’t know what time will tell, but I know that the local effort is a very strong one,” he said.

DeDominicis hopes to see Bill 23 result in the creation of more affordable housing units through “inclusionary zoning,” he said. “Largely, Brantford is suburban, single family [housing]. So it’s all about intensification.”

Housing is just one of the few issues Canadian citizens are facing today. “Everything is so intertwined, but housing is at the heart of it,” said Bisanti.

Serena Austin is a fourth-year Digital Media and Journalism student at Laurier Brantford.