Update October 31, 2022
Bill 23 passed its second reading vote 75 in favour and 34 against. It looks like the PC party voted in favour of it and everyone else voted against. It will now go to the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure, and Cultural Policy.
This is a massive Omnibus Bill, so while I work on doing a full summary on it here’s a shortened summary on what it should do.
Schedule 1 – City of Toronto Act
So first up Bill 23 will allow the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to impose limits and conditions on Toronto’s ability to prohibit and regulate the demolition and conversion of residential rental properties.
It will also qualify the definition of “development” (more on that when I do the deep dive) and makes it so exterior design is no longer subject to site plan control.
Schedule 2 – Conservation Authorities Act
First change here is that instead of requiring the Minister’s approval to sell/lease/otherwise hand off some land the authority just needs to provide notice to the Minister that they’re doing so. They’ll also need to conduct public consultations before doing so if certain criteria are met. (More on those when I do the detailed summary) Bill 23 will also make it so authorities cannot provide programs or services that involve reviewing and commenting on “certain matters”. (Again, more details when I can dig in) The Minister will also be able to freeze any fees that authorities charge.
The Conservation Authorities Act will be changes so certain prohibitions imposed by the authority don’t apply to activities that are part of development authorized under the Planning Act and if other conditions are met.
Some extra situations where a conservation authority can be required to issue a permit are added.
Pollution and the conservation of land are no longer factors that are to be considered when making decisions about whether or not to carry out a development project. Instead the authorities will be considering the effects on the control of unstable soil or bedrock.
The Minister will be allowed to make regulations that limit the types of conditions that can be attached to a permit.
A new rule is added that prohibits a person from continuing a development project if they haven’t entered into an agreement within a set timeframe. (I’m not sure what agreement is being referred to here, I’ll find out when I can deep dive)
Schedule 3 – Development Charges Act
Housing services no longer count as a service that has a development charge.
There’s some exemptions from development charges for the creation of affordable residential units, attainable residential units, non-profit housing developments, and inclusionary zoning residential units.
Some studies are removed from the list of capital costs that are considered when determining what the development charge would be, and development charges are reduced from what they would be for the first four years a by-law is in force. The duration of these by-laws is extended from five years to ten.
Development charges for rental housing are reduced by a percentage based on the number of bedrooms.
The interest rate for certain development costs now have a maximum.
Municipalities will be required to spend or allocate 60% of the money in reserve funds required by the Development Charges Act.
Schedule 4 – Municipal Act
Similar to the changes to the City of Toronto Act, the Minister can make regulations imposing limits and conditions on a municipality’s ability to limit or regulate the demolition and conversion of residential rental properties.
Schedule 5 – New Home Construction Licensing Act
Changes are made here that allow the Minister to make orders instead of regulations regarding a regulatory authority’s board’s composition.
Higher maximum fines for subsequent offences regarding this Act are put in place.
Some changes are made to how administrative penalties are handed out, including attempting to prevent economic benefit from contraventions to this Act.
There’s a section here that involves how the regulatory authority can spend the funds it gets as administrative penalties. Now they can use funds it collects as fines as well.
Finally, there’s a change here regarding how authorities can hand out payments to anyone adversely affected in any situation that resulted in the authority collecting a fine. Now any regulations on how that money is distributed requires the Minister’s approval.
Schedule 6 – Ontario Heritage Act
Two big changes right away here. The first is that the Minister can review any determinations regarding heritage status made by the ministry or a public body responsible for determining the status. The second is that the Lieutenant Governor in Council can exempt the Crown, a ministry, or a public body from having to comply with heritage standards involving a particular property if they decide that the exemption could advance a provincial priority.
There’s a number of changes here that seem to be focused on limiting the ability to protect a site with the potential for heritage status. First of all, there will need to be a public registry of all sites that have heritage status and all sites that might be considered for heritage status. (Non-designated sites) Second, the objection process for designating a property as heritage now applies to adding a property to the non-designated list. Third, under certain circumstances a non-designated site can be removed from this list, and finally they cannot be added again for five years after removal.
A new limitation has been added to granting heritage designation, requiring the site to be on the non-designated listing before it can be granted heritage status.
Finally, Bill 23 will allow the province to place new criteria that must be met if a municipality wants to designate an area as being a heritage conversation district. (Basically granting heritage status to a part of the city due to cultural value or interest)
Schedule 7 – Ontario Land Tribunal Act
First of all the Ontario Land Tribunal will be able to dismiss a proceeding without a hearing if they think the people bringing the hearing are contributing to undue delay. They’ll also be able to dismiss a proceeding entirely if they feel a party has failed to comply with a Tribunal order, and will also be able to order an unsuccessful party to pay a successful party’s costs.
The Lieutenant Governor in Council will be able to require the Tribunal to prioritize certain classes of proceedings, and the Minister will be able to create timelines that the Tribunal will be expected to follow while dealing with certain classes.
Schedule 8 – Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act
The Minister will be able to appoint a chair of the board of directors, as well as an administrator of the Corporation. It looks like “the Corporation” refers to the government body responsible for monitoring things like pipes and wiring underground. More on this when I do the dive.
Schedule 9 – Planning Act
The concept of “parcels” of urban residential land is added to the Act as well as rules around developing such parcels.
Zoning by-laws will be required to be amended to conform with official plan policies within one year of the policies coming into effect.
New restrictions are added regarding who is allowed to file an appeal on the adoption of an official plan.
Currently you are prohibited from requesting changes to an official plan within two years of the plan coming into effect. Bill 23 will add exemptions to this for pits and quarries.
Currently the Minister can amend official plans by order when the plan is likely to run against a matter of provincial interest. Bill 23 removes a number of the procedural steps that must be followed when the Minister does so, as well as removing the possibility for the Minister to request the Tribunal hold a hearing on the proposed amendment.
Some exceptions are made regarding a part of the Planning Act that prevents appeals of zoning by-laws related to protected major transit station areas more than a year after related official plan policies have come into effect.
Changes are made to the calculations of a community benefits charge, multiplying it by a ratio based on floor area.
Bill 23 removes exterior design from the list of matters that are subject to site plan control.
A new section is added that establishes the maximum amount for a development that a municipality can require be affordable/attainable residential units.
Some new sections are added regarding the timing for determining the amount of land for park or other public recreational use, or a payment in lieu of that space. Bill 23 also creates a maximum amount of land or value that can be required.
A framework is added for owners to identify land that meets the public use requirement, and allows them to appear to the Tribunal if the municipality refuses that land for use.
Municipalities will be required to spend 60% of the money kept in the community benefits fund every year.
Exceptions are for subdivision control and part-lot control with land lease community homes. This exception doesn’t apply if any part of the land is in the Greenbelt Area.
Some provisions regarding public meetings are repealed.
Bill 23 establishes two classes of upper-tier municipalities, those that have planning responsibilities and those that don’t.
Schedule 10 – Supporting Growth and Housing in York and Durham Regions Act
This is a new Act made with the intention of expediting the planning, development, and construction of the York Region sewage works project, as well as the Lake Simcoe phosphorus reduction project for the capture and treament of drainage from the Holland Marsh to remove phosphorus before discharge into the West Holland River.
Certain orders and approvals under the Environmental Assessment Act are terminated, and the projects are exempt from the Environmental Bill of Rights.
Land required for the projects can be designated as project land, in which case a permit is required for certain work.
The Minister may require the removal of obstructions to the projects.
Adjustments are made to the expropriation process, as are rules regarding compensation.
And that’s all! As you can see this is a pretty massive Bill, and it’ll take me a bit of time to do a proper summary of it. Should be enough here for you to get a basic idea what it does though, hopefully I’ll be able to get through it all before it actually passes in case there’s any details missing here. Of course with how massive this Bill is nothing else was discussed for the day, and odds are most of the debate over the next few days will revolve around this one.
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