Toronto, June 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) congratulates Olivia Chow on yesterday’s by-election victory and offers to work with the mayor-elect to find ways to achieve more housing supply and improved affordability in the City of Toronto.
“During the campaign, poll after poll demonstrated that housing was a key issue for voters,” said Dave Wilkes, President and CEO of BILD. “It is widely acknowledged that the housing affordability crisis in Toronto is the consequence of inadequate housing supply. This is a policy-driven problem and is therefore fixable. However, time is of the essence given the rate of population growth in the GTA.”
To support the province’s objective of enabling the building of 1.5 million new homes by 2031, Toronto must deliver 285,000 new homes within the same period—approximately double the rate of the previous decade. The city also needs to address its deficit of rental housing supply, which will reach 84,000 units in the next 10 years unless action is taken. Policy changes would help increase supply and improve affordability in the city and in the province and enhance livability and support equality for all Torontonians. To achieve these goals, mayor-elect Chow will need to maintain a resolute focus on housing.
Throughout the by-election campaign, BILD has encouraged candidates to focus on measures that will speed up the approvals process, cap municipal fees added to new homes, use land more efficiently and build housing-supportive infrastructure. These measures are set out in greater detail in the Housing Policy Recommendations that BILD released during the campaign. If implemented, they would help speed up the addition of new housing supply and increase availability and choice.
BILD has sent mayor-elect Chow a letter requesting an opportunity to meet at her earliest convenience to start the vital work of changing the culture and processes at city hall so our members can get on with building housing for the new home buyers and renters looking to call the City of Toronto home.
“BILD’s 1,200 member companies build or support the building of virtually every new home in Toronto,” said Mr. Wilkes. “This means the association and its members are experts uniquely positioned to assist the mayor-elect with recommendations on how to resolve the bureaucratic quagmire at city hall that is inhibiting new housing supply. As companies based in the GTA, BILD members have a vested interest in ensuring adequate housing supply for the social and economic vitality of Toronto and the region.”
With 1,200 member companies, BILD is the voice of the home building, residential and non-residential land development and professional renovation industries in the Greater Toronto Area. The building and renovation industry provides more than 255,997 jobs in the region and $39.3 billion in investment value. BILD is affiliated with the Ontario and Canadian Home Builders’ Associations.
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For additional information or to schedule an interview, contact Justin Sherwood at jsherwood@bildgta.ca or 416-371-6005.
