The Ontario Government has officially passed legislation that it believes will help build more homes.
Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, was passed on Monday.
It amended a slew of infrastructure motions, as well as the Residential Tenancies Act.
The changes include allowing the government to define what counts as persistent late payments, making it harder for tenants to raise defenses without paying part of the arrears, and limiting the Landlord and Tenant Board’s ability to stop unfair evictions, among other changes.
The goal of the Bill is to allow the provincial government to build homes faster.
There are some who believe this legislation will do more harm than good.
“Like so many of the other housing bills this government has put forward, Bill 60 is actually going to make the housing crisis worse,” said Mike Schreiner, MPP for Guelph. "Housing starts are at all-time lows. Housing prices are at record highs. There is no community in the province of Ontario where a full-time minimum-wage worker can afford average monthly rent.”
Other MPPs noted that the Bill will make it easier for landlords to evict tenants, and that their constituents are strongly against it.
A statement from the Ontario NDP said that when the vote passed, people in the gallery began chanting “people over profits”, with one protester even shouting, “you’re putting people on the streets!”
"Millions of Ontarians saw their fears realized today as this government decided that passing Bill 60, a bill that strips away protections, accelerates evictions, and hands more power to property management companies and corporations already driving rents through the roof," said Catherine McKenney, the NDP Shadow Minister for housing.
Marit Stiles, leader of the Ontario NDP, plans to introduce a motion to repeal Bill 60 while also bringing in rent control.
