Official Plans, Income Security and the Provincial Climate Change Impact Assessment

Unwinding Changes to Official Plans  

Today, the province announced plans to reverse its official plan amendments made in the following select municipalities with housing targets: Barrie, Belleville, Guelph, Hamilton, Ottawa and the City of Peterborough, the Regional Municipalities of Halton, Niagara, Peel, Waterloo and York, as well as Wellington County. This includes winding back changes to urban boundaries, which some municipalities have said were not needed to build housing. The province will introduce legislation to enact the change. It is engaging the impacted municipalities on the reversal, recognizing projects and investments may have already been made.   

AMO welcomes this change. In previous submissions to the legislature, AMO has highlighted that pervasive or indiscriminate provincial intervention in development risks undermining broader local planning efforts with implications for financing, timing and complete communities. AMO has urged the government to use Ministerial planning authorities, such as Municipal Zoning Orders (MZOs) only in collaboration with municipalities and in situations of extraordinary urgency. 

Municipalities believe Ontario can build housing and grow faster, and that growth should dovetail with good planning and responsible environmental protection. The provincial government moved unilaterally in directions that it clearly regrets. AMO is pleased that it is changing course to work collaboratively with municipalities on housing.      

Income Security for Housing and Homelessness 

AMO continues to highlight the importance of improving Ontario’s income support system to help address root causes of homelessness across the province. The following changes to the Ontario Disability Support Program and the Ontario Works program can help those who are homeless to find permanent housing, and prevent more Ontarians from falling into homelessness: 

• Provide base shelter amount to unhoused people on Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and Ontario Works (OW). Currently, because unhoused individuals do not have shelter costs, they are not entitled to receive shelter benefits. Having enough income to pay rent is a critical part of moving out of homelessness.  
• Increase the amount of money individuals on OW can earn without impacts to monthly benefits (i.e., “earnings exemptions”). Allowing workers to keep more of what they earn will help people on OW to afford rent while encouraging them to work.   
• Increase the cap on discretionary benefits administered by municipal system managers to 10% from 5%. Giving municipalities more ability to help cover emergency costs can keep individuals and families’ from losing their homes. 

Further, AMO is asking the government to realize the full potential and promise of social assistance transformation by better enabling municipalities to deliver the wrap around supports many individuals need to succeed in sustainable employment.  

As part of our recommended income security changes, AMO is supporting calls for federal and provincial investments in enhanced housing subsidies outside the social assistance system to help people afford rent. There is a variety of tools for the municipal toolkit to work with, but more targeted ones are needed.  

AMO is supporting the implementation of the proposal for a Homelessness Prevention and Housing Benefit developed by the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. 

Significant Climate Impacts Foreseen in Provincial Report 

The provincial government has published the final report of the Provincial Climate Change Impact Assessment (PCCIA). The PCCIA was originally launched by the provincial government in 2020 as part of its Made-In-Ontario Climate Change Plan. The Assessment examines regional impacts of climate change on Ontario to help the government forecast needed responses to ensure resilience for Ontario’s communities, residents, and environments. 

The final PCCIA report lays out some significant impacts from a changing climate that will affect communities and residents. AMO has written to the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks to request that the government respond to the report and work with municipalities to develop a climate resilience plan for the province. In the interim, municipalities are encouraged to review the report to understand regional changes.