Why Ontario’s Planning Act Needs Major Changes: Toronto Star Op-ed
As of April 12, municipalities in Ontario will be able to implement inclusionary zoning, allowing them to require affordable housing units in residential developments. The province’s willingness to grant municipalities this authority reflects its broader commitment to modernizing Ontario’s planning regime. But one relic of this old regime remains: Section 37 of Ontario’s Planning Act. As the province continues to overhaul its planning legislation, it is time to revisit Section 37 and either repeal it or significantly amend it.
Section 37 allows municipalities to secure “benefits” from developers in return for allowing buildings to exceed height and density restrictions. As I note in a recent report for the C.D. Howe Institute,…
Let cities work together to solve regional transit issues: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Many of the challenges that urban regions face spill over the boundaries of municipal governments – none more so than in the current Ontario debate over public transit. The incoming government would be wise to let cities solve regional transit issues rather than to force amalgamation or uploading to a single regional transit agency.
However, there’s a clear need to move toward consolidating some parts of the disparate transit operators across the Toronto region into a single entity. For example, a single planning agency could integrate fares across the region, fixing the current practice of many bus lines stopping at municipal borders and requiring passengers to pay a separate fare when they cross them. A single large transit…
Buildings with Benefits: The Defect of Density Bonusing
Ontario should scrap arbitrary and opaque density bonusing deals between municipalities and developers, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In Buildings with Benefits: The Defect of Density Bonusing author Aaron Moore finds that density bonusing – a practice where developers can break zoning rules in exchange for public amenities – is […] Jeremy Kronick – Ottawa’s National Housing Strategy Misses The Biggest Target
From: Jeremy Kronick To: The Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Date: February 6, 2018 Re: Ottawa’s National Housing Strategy Misses the Biggest Target The Liberal government rolled out a national housing strategy to great fanfare late last year. Great things are promised with $40 billion over a decade: a 50 percent reduction in homelessness, […] Benjamin Dachis – Bring Cities Back to the Table at Metrolinx
From: Benjamin Dachis To: The Honourable Kathryn McGarry, Minister of Transportation for Ontario Date: January 31, 2018 Subject: Bring Cities Back to the Table at Metrolinx There have been many ideas tossed around about changing who does what in Toronto transit. Some people even think an enlarged Metrolinx, the provincially run regional transit body, should […]Ben Dachis – How to Judge the King Streetcar Lane Pilot
To: John Tory, Mayor of Toronto From: Benjamin Dachis Date: January 09, 2018 Re: How to Judge the King Streetcar Lane Pilot As a King West resident, I am one happy commuter with the new streetcar-priority lanes on King Street. But many car-bound commuters from elsewhere are not. The debate on this new scheme will […]Ben Dachis – Mobility Pricing and Transportation Investment Go Hand-in-Hand
From: Benjamin Dachis To: Metro Vancouver Mobility Pricing Independent Commission Date: Oct. 26, 2017 Re: Mobility pricing and transportation investment go hand-in-hand Your Commission has quite the task to submit your recommendation of how to tackle congestion in the Vancouver region by next April. You’ll need a way to think about balancing the economic cost of congestion […]Covert and Kellogg – Crude by Rail, Option Value, and Pipeline Investment
From: Thomas R. Covert and Ryan Kellogg To: Concerned Canadians Date: October 18, 2017 Re: Crude by Rail, Option Value, and Pipeline Investment Between 2010 and 2014, crude-by-rail volumes out of North Dakota grew from essentially nothing to more than 750,000 barrels per day. At its peak, crude oil shippers moved more than 10 percent […]John Palmer – Bread and Circuses Revisited. The Reality of Taxpayer Support for Arenas
From: John Palmer To: Concerned Calgarians Date: September 19, 2017 Re: Bread and Circuses Revisited. The Reality of Taxpayer Support for Arenas Calgary is in the middle of the traditional Canadian big-city dance in which a professional sports team, the Flames hockey club in this instance, is demanding that taxpayers foot much of the bill […]Ben Dachis – Airport Overhaul Readying for Takeoff
From: Benjamin Dachis To: Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport and Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance Date: July 21, 2017 Re: Airport Overhaul Readying for Takeoff Congratulations. The revelation this week that you are proceeding with the study of selling equity stakes in airports is good news indeed. It took an access-to-information request, but CBC has […]Ben Dachis – How to Kickstart the Infrastructure Spending Boom
From: Benjamin Dachis To: Finance Ministers across Canada Date: July 12, 2017 Re: How to Kickstart the Infrastructure Spending Boom Governments across Canada are planning one of the largest collective infrastructure investments in history. With hundreds of billions of dollars of infrastructure investments on the books, governments need to find a way to pay for […]Adding More Juice: How Private Investors can Improve the Performance of Provincial Power Assets
Consumers would likely enjoy lower power bills if provincial governments welcomed more private investment in electricity utilities, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Adding More Juice: How Private Investors can Improve the Performance of Provincial Power Assets,” author Steven Robins shows how provinces can shift the risk of mistaken demand […]