Front Burner

Why critics say Doug Ford's housing plan is the wrong vision for a growing province

Why critics think Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s push for 1.5 million new homes could cause environmental damage and slam financially troubled cities.

Critics say plan could cause environmental damage, slam financially troubled cities

Ontario Premier Doug Ford shakes hands with Richard Lyall, president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario, at a campaign housing announcement in May 2022. (John Lehmann)

On Monday, Ontario passed the "More Homes Built Faster Act" — a controversial part of Premier Doug Ford's plan for 1.5 million new homes in the next decade. 

Bill 23 includes measures like reducing developer fees that cities say are crucial for services and infrastructure and permits triplexes on single residential lots.

Ford has also already given the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa extraordinary powers, including overruling majority votes in city council in certain circumstances. And the Ford government is moving to open up parts of the province's Greenbelt for development — a supposedly permanently protected area that Ford had said he wouldn't "touch."

Today, CBC Toronto reporter Ryan Patrick Jones joins us to explain the controversies over Ford's housing plan, and why critics say it's the wrong kind of vision for a growing province.  

Listen on Google Podcasts

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Spotify