How Ontario’s housing act will change Toronto + Ford avoids Emergencies Act questions

Backlash against the central bank’s rate hikes, Ontario’s housing plans in Toronto and Doug Ford avoiding questions.

Thestar.com
Oct. 26, 2022
Manuela Vega

Here’s the latest on the backlash against the Bank of Canada’s rate hikes, how Ontario’s housing plans will change Toronto, and Doug Ford avoiding questions about the Emergencies Act.

DON’T MISS:
Backlash is growing against interest rate hikes ahead of today’s predicted 75-basis point bump
Ahead of what would be the Bank of Canada’s sixth rate increase this year, calls are growing for the bank to cool it with the aggressive hikes that are expected to cause a painful recession. As NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said “there’s absolutely no merit to their approach,” some economists are questioning the speed with which the bank is moving, as well as its ultimate goal. Clarrie Feinstein reports on the debate around calming inflation and easing the financial burden on lower income households.

• Context: The central bank is concerned that inflation left unchecked could get baked into the economy through higher wages, creating the kind of runaway inflation last seen in the 1980s, when rates hit almost 13 per cent. The bank is using its most effective tool to avoid this, one economist said.
• By the numbers: The Bank of Canada is expected to increase the overnight lending rate by .75 of a percentage point, bringing the rate to 4 per cent.
• More: Lenders are continuing to increase fixed-rate mortgage rates ahead of the central bank’s hike. Take a look at the uncertainty it’s creating for new buyers and homeowners renewing their mortgages.

Ontario is planning sweeping new housing changes. Here are five things it could mean for Toronto.
With the release of the province’s latest plan to build 1.5 million homes by 2031, Ontario has set a goal of building 285,000 homes in Toronto. In the city, those plans are expected to manifest through the creation of more three-bedroom apartments, single-family neighbourhoods becoming denser with different kinds of housing, fewer development hold-ups and more. Tess Kalinowski reports on some of the changes we can expect from Ontario’s new housing act.

• Bad news for: Rental replacements and homelessness. “It will be open season on low-income apartment buildings in this city,” said Toronto’s former chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat. “You will see people being displaced because we already have a shortage of low-income housing.”
• Go deeper: Premier Doug Ford plans to override municipal zoning to allow for more housing. Limiting the role of conservation authorities is also part of his plan. Here’s how else the government aims to speed up development.
• More: Ontario raised the foreign homebuyer tax to 25 per cent -- the highest in Canada. Here’s why critics say it won’t do much for affordability.

Doug Ford has filed a legal motion to avoid testifying at the Emergencies Act public inquiry
Citing “parliamentary privilege,” Premier Doug Ford’s lawyers filed a notice of application Tuesday to combat summonses ordering him and Deputy Premier Sylvia Jones to appear at the public inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act last February. Both Ford and Jones skipped the legislature’s morning question period, and the premier avoided reporters at a noon speech on Bay Street. Robert Benzie reports on the chaotic scene that unfolded in the house and the details of the legal action.

• Meanwhile: As pressure mounts for Ford and Jones to testify, Trudeau says the premier stood with the “people of Ottawa” during the “Freedom Convoy.” Here’s a closer look at the apparent contradictions that have emerged.
• At the inquiry: Here’s why high-ranking police say they believed the Convoy could have been cleared without Emergencies Act.
• More: The occupation could have been smaller and easier to manage if not for then-Ottawa police chief’s direction not to use specialized mediation teams, the inquiry heard. Take a look at the evidence suggesting local police bungled their response.