City council faces hurdles to unlock $500M in federal housing cash

Staff report to comply with federal requirements will be late walk-on item at meeting this week

Cbc.ca
Dec. 13, 2023
Shawn Jeffords

Beginning at a city hall meeting Wednesday, Toronto councilllors will scrutinize a to-do list from the federal housing minister with the goal of accessing more than half a billion in funding to build new homes.

Last month, federal housing minister Sean Fraser said that if Toronto wants its $500 million share of the Housing Accelerator Fund it needs to make a slew of changes to city building policy. Civil servants are expected to present council with a report with a plan to address Fraser's concerns.

On Tuesday, Mayor Olivia Chow said the item will a priority during the council session. She expects council will want to urgently move forward on staff recommendations to secure the cash.

"One of the votes that I'll be whipping very hard is the Housing Accelerator Fund because we need another $500 million to build housing like this," she said at a Scarborough housing announcement.

Though the staff-recommended plan to comply with the federal requests have not yet been made public, Chow has downplayed questions about the difficulty of complying with those requests.

The mayor said work on the file was underway right up to the deadline to submit documents to council. So late, in fact, the report is expected to be walked onto the council floor during the multi-day session.

"[Staff are] going to dot the i's and cross the t's and the report will come forward on Thursday for City Council to approve," she said.

Previously, Chow said the city was already moving forward on many items Fraser requested, including legalizing multiplexes citywide.

Fraser also asked for minimum height requirements and stronger density requirements near transit, a streamlined permitting process, and a reduction of parking minimums.

The federal fund is designed to push municipalities across the country to change planning rules and make it easier to build. Toronto could use the funding in a variety of ways including supporting its planning department, which has faced staffing shortages for years, and to bolster its housing plan, which aims to create 65,000 affordable homes over the next decade.

Coun. Brad Bradford says he believes council will want to push forward and access the funding. The city urgently needs more affordable housing and this is another program that can help achieve that goal, he said.
"We need to make sure that there's more housing that people can afford," said Bradford.

"More purpose built rental, and capitalizing on the infrastructure investments, whether that's new transit, or schools, or water and sewer pipes, making sure that we're delivering the housing where those infrastructure projects are being delivered."

Bradford, who is vice-chair of Toronto's housing committee, expressed some concern about the delay in receiving the funding. The federal government has already signed agreements with Ontario cities like Hamilton, Vaughan and Brampton.

"I had questions, as did a lot of folks, about why it was taking so long to get pen to paper on an agreement with the federal government," he said.

"We are the largest city in the country, 20 per cent of the national GDP runs through Toronto, and I would suggest that our housing crisis is the most acute."

Ford stadium request not part of 'new deal': Chow
Meanwhile, Mayor Chow denied that a controversial proposal to rename Centennial Park's football stadium after former mayor Rob Ford is linked to the city's multi-billion financial aid deal with the province, which Chow announced alongside Premier Doug Ford last month.

Coun. Paul Ainslie, who represents Ward 24, Scarborough-Guildwood, tabled the motion and says the City of Toronto has recognized former mayors, including Mel Lastman with Mel Lastman Square, Barbara Hall with Barbara Hall Park, and June Rowlands with June Rowlands Park.

Chow said Tuesday she supports the motion.

"Let me set the record straight," she said. "The naming of the stadium has nothing to do with the new deal. At no point during any of the discussions ... had the question about the stadium been raised. I just want to be very clear."

Chow would not say if she will whip the vote to ensure her allies approve the renaming during the meeting.

"I know the pain that people feel when they lose a loved one," she said. "So, when councillor Ainslie came to me early in November and ... said that the premier wants to name the Centennial Stadium after his brother, I said I would support it. And that's what I am going to do."

Asked Tuesday if he supported renaming the stadium after Ford, Scarborough North coun. Jamaal Myers, a key ally of Chow, said he had not made a decision.

"It will be a very interesting debate," he said. "I know that was one of his passions. I know I have a lot of constituents who were very, very fond of the former mayor. So, I'll be listening to all sides of the debate and I will make a decision."