Municipal issues to continue topping the news agenda

Municipal governments are at the centre of how communities shape their own growth. They are the level of government closest to the people and therefore the most accessible level for people to be consulted and to participate in decision-making.

Municipalities have been at the top of the news agenda for months and with a new year that does not seem to be changing any time soon.

In Alberta, Bill 1, the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act, commonly known as the Alberta Sovereignty Act, was introduced on November 29, 2022 and passed on December 8, 2022. It could mean municipalities are directed to disregard federal laws which some critics say will open the door to a wave of court challenges arguing that the law is unconstitutional.

In Ontario there is a quadruple whammy of setting aside protections for Greenbelt lands, adjustments to urban boundaries to allow other rural land to be developed, taking away the power of conservation authorities to protect wetlands and aquifers, and the creation of “strong mayor” powers which allow for the proposal and amendment of bylaws related to provincial priorities with a vote of more than one-third of council.

Add to this a new housing plan for Toronto that allows for duplexes and triplexes in suburban areas where there are currently only single family homes.

All these topics will help drive the news agenda in 2023. What issue will we still be talking about a year from now? A good guess is the Greenbelt. Why?

Ordinary people seem to have embraced the idea of the Greenbelt and see it as part of the Ontario identity in much the same way that healthcare is viewed Canada-wide.

The Greenbelt stretches around the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), the main population area of Ontario, so many people are aware of the Greenbelt and see signs marking it every day, so it is easy for people to visualize and identify with it.

Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act 2022, is intended by the Ontario government to spur housing development, with a goal of 1.5 million homes built in Ontario over the next decade.

It is Bill 23, which was introduced on October 25, 2022, and passed on November 28, 2022, that sets aside protections and opens portions of the Greenbelt up for housing development.

A recent poll by Mainstreet Research, a market research and polling firm, found that opening the Greenbelt for housing development is extremely unpopular, even among people identifying themselves as supporters of Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative (PC) party.

The poll found that 67 per cent of respondents either somewhat or strongly disapprove of Bill 23, the law which opens up the Greenbelt for development, with 55 per cent strongly disapproving.

Interestingly, 40 per cent of respondents who identify themselves as PC party supporters also disapprove of the plan to open the plan to open the Greenbelt, with 25 per cent strongly disapproving.

These are startling numbers and indicate that the Greenbelt issue will be with us for some time.