Ontario mayors gather to speak on housing goals, infrastructure and community wellbeing.

Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward met with members of the Ontario Big City Mayors (OBCM) group this morning (April 19) at The Port House downtown to discuss plans for the most pressing issues faced by Ontario municipalities.

Housing, homelessness, mental health and addiction were the main talking points of the event as OBCM spoke with government representatives and opposition leaders about how to combat the ongoing struggles.

Meed Ward, the Chair of OBCM, stressed the importance of working together with both the provincial and federal governments in times like this.

“Municipalities don’t have the capacity or resources to address the increasingly complex healthcare issues that those who are struggling in our communities face,” she said. “We are having to divert municipal funds for other priorities like affordable housing, transit and social programs. All levels of government must work in partnership to create innovative solutions and programs to tackle this crisis.”

Along with many other large cities represented by members of OBCM, the city of Burlington accepted the pledge put forth by the Ontario government last year to build 1.5 million homes by 2031 and has taken steps to reach its targets.

“We have already approved four units [per lot] in Burlington, and we’ve heard that if only 18 per cent of municipalities in Ontario did that, we would reach two million homes,” Meed Ward said. “It’s a way to bring gentle density. We don’t want to build into the Greenbelt, we don’t want to build on wetlands. We’re building up around our three GO stations, and all municipalities that are members of our caucus are looking to increase density around those major transit corridors.”

The Ontario government has given strong mayor powers to all municipalities that agreed to the housing pledge, which some cities have used to speed up the process of building new houses and passing bylaws.

Ontario municipal leaders are hoping that additional provincial and federal funding will help alleviate housing issues across the province.

“Municipalities know best,” Meed Ward said. “All of our communities are uniquely different. We will work with whoever the people have elected at whatever level, our goal is to ensure that the appropriate amount of funding comes, ideally with fewer strings attached because we know what we need best.”

The government of Canada announced on April 16 that it would be allocating $6 billion toward critical housing infrastructure over the next 10 years, such as waste and water infrastructure, and approximately $2 billion to build more houses, combat homelessness and create new community recreation sites.