Ontario tweaks planning rules in face of home construction slowdown [Video]

As housing starts continue to falter, the Ontario government has unveiled an update to planning guidance it says will make it easier for towns and cities to hit housing targets they’re currently failing to reach.

Housing Minister Paul Calandra unveiled updates to the Provincial Planning Statements (PPS) on Tuesday. The PPS dictate good practice standards to planners and municipalities in the province.

The PPS changes include a push to encourage more homebuilding, new major transit lines and the conversation of underused land like shopping plazas and malls.

Calandra said the changes would streamline some of the land-use planning processes undertaken by local authorities by cutting the previous version of the same policy by 30,000 words and 100 pages.

That simplification will save 6,600 hours of administrative work, the government claimed.

“In the face of high interest rates and a challenging global economy, our government is working closely with municipalities to …