The Provincial Government continued its attack on environmental sustainability this past week, by passing Bill 5 “Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act” and Bill 17, Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025″. They did so despite strong opposition from environmental groups, opposition parties, and First Nations Peoples.
Most Ontarians were not even aware of the government’s intention. The speed at which these bills were rammed through the legislature is nothing short of breathtaking, with next to no committee discussion or public consultation. Bill 5 was first introduced on April 17th and Bill 17 passed first reading on May 12th. Both bills were declared law by Royal Assent this past Thursday before the legislature adjourned until October.
Called omnibus bills, these legislative tools are large complex and far reaching. They limit the powers of municipalities, to make independent land use decisions, to protect important natural heritage features, and to implement sustainable development guidelines that will help our communities to both mitigate against the worst effects of climate change and adapt to those effects that we cannot avoid.
The main purpose of the legislation is to encourage developers to build new and affordable housing faster than they would otherwise. It does so, however, by putting the costs of providing services for those new homes on the backs of existing homeowners. It does this by deferring or eliminating development charges which the municipalities rely on to pay for building schools, recreation centres, roads, parks, etc.
I wrote an article a couple of weeks ago outlining the major problems with Bill 5. Below is a letter I wrote to my MPP Graham McGregor outlining my concerns with Bill 17. If you believe as I do that Bill 5 and Bill 17 are not the way to get more and affordable homes built, I hope you will take the time to let your MPP know how you feel and that you expect them to alter these pieces of legislation before they are allowed to damage our plan for a sustainable future.
Letter dated June 3, 2025.
To: Honourable Graham McGregor, Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism and MPP for Brampton North.
“Dear Minister McGregor,
I find myself once again in the unfortunate position of writing to you about a piece of legislation which, if passed will be egregiously damaging to municipal plans to protect our environment. I’m talking about Bill 17, Protect Ontario by Building Smarter and Faster Act, 2025. I am alarmed that Bill 17 is being fast-tracked without debate and that it attacks municipal decision-making powers. I am particularly concerned that the Bill will threaten the ability of municipalities to continue to use Green Development Standards to ensure that new homes are safe, weather-proof, energy efficient, and more affordable to operate. Construction methods have been quickly evolving, and Ontario’s building code has fallen behind the times. Forward thinking municipalities, like Brampton, are filling the gaps so that new homes are built using modern technologies to withstand extreme weather conditions, while improving energy efficiency and facilitating low-carbon options such as electric vehicle charging, and efficient, clean heating systems.
As a case in point, this past November my wife Dayle and I received an amber alert type message on our phone at 2:00am indicating the presence of a tornado in the vicinity of our home! It didn’t wake me; I was already awake because of the roar of the wind outside. While vicious storms in November have historically been the norm, a late fall tornado in southern Ontario is not. There should be no question that the severity of weather events in our area is increasing due to climate change along with the probability of significant property damage. Our governments, at both the municipal and provincial level, have the power to implement policies that will either mitigate or exacerbate the risks. I’m disappointed that the province has chosen the latter approach in the interests of meeting short-term objectives that are driven by ideological rather than evidence-based factors.
If needed, I can provide you with the fact-based arguments as to why Green Development Standards at the municipal level will not impact speed or affordability of housing starts but will improve home efficiencies and reduce operating costs, increasing home affordability for years to come. I would ask you to please raise these issues in your Provincial caucus meetings and let your Premier know that he will be on the wrong side of history if Bill 17 and Bill 5 pass without major modifications.
Thanks for your time and interest.
Sincerely,
David Laing, L6Z 2A1
David Laing – President, Brampton Environmental Alliance https://bramptonea.org