Ontario plans to impose new planning rules on municipalities to boost housing [Video]

The Ford government is planning to impose new rules on how local governments greenlight development projects, Global News has learned, pushing the changes on municipalities as the province struggles to meet its self-imposed goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2031.

The government is relying on a series of changes to Ontario’s planning rules, like reducing studies developers have to undertake and standardizing development charges, in a bid to speed up homebuilding.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack is set to table the legislation next week, with changes including reducing requirements for builders to conduct some municipally-focused studies, allowing builders to bypass some city committees and a raft of changes to the fees developers pay to local governments.

The government plans to use the backdrop of economic uncertainty, driven by the tariff war with the United States, to bolster its housing bill, which will be presented under the title Protecting Ontario …