{"id":18721,"date":"2023-06-28T12:52:51","date_gmt":"2023-06-28T19:52:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/stakeholders-keen-to-work-with-chow-on-housing\/"},"modified":"2023-06-28T12:52:52","modified_gmt":"2023-06-28T19:52:52","slug":"stakeholders-keen-to-work-with-chow-on-housing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/stakeholders-keen-to-work-with-chow-on-housing\/","title":{"rendered":"Stakeholders keen to work with Chow on housing"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Construction stakeholders have congratulated Olivia Chow on her Toronto mayoral byelection victory June 26 and are pledging to work with her to get more housing built.<\/p>\n

The former NDP MP and ex-Toronto city councillor came third in the 2014 mayor\u2019s race but topped the polls this time with 37.2 per cent of the vote, besting former councillor Ana Bailao, who finished a clear second with 32.5 per cent of the votes. Former police chief Mark Saunders was far back in third place with 8.6 per cent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will dedicate myself to work tirelessly in building a city that\u2019s more caring, affordable and safe where everyone belongs,\u201d Chow said in her victory speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said to Premier (Doug) Ford, who graciously called me tonight\u2026he said, \u2018We look forward to working together and finding common ground.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWell Mr. Premier we\u2019re ready, let\u2019s work together to get things done.\u201d<\/p>\n

The byelection was held to replace John Tory, who resigned in February following an indiscretion with a staffer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Housing was one among several of Chow\u2019s top priorities during the campaign but it now appears to be a primary focus as she prepares to be sworn in July 12. She has pledged to implement her City Homes Plan, building 25,000 new rental units with the city as developer; she will look for approvals efficiencies to enable NGOs and private builders to build new homes more quickly; and she will work with the federal government to unlock new funding for housing.<\/p>\n

She told a radio interviewer, \u201cI know there are quite a few applications for social housing, for affordable housing, that are proposed by nonprofit groups\u2026It\u2019s been two years and stuck at city hall. My first order of business is to go in and say, \u2018Wait, hang on a second. Everything is ready. Why don\u2019t we just approve these? Why has it been stuck for so long?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI know there are developers, private developers also wanting to do the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) president Richard Lyall said he had a good conversation with Chow on housing during a campaign tour of social housing sites and they found they had lots in common on the file.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to have a problem at all,\u201d said Lyall. \u201cOne of the things that we didn\u2019t do was endorse anybody in particular in this election, and we said the number one issue, housing, is not an ideological issue. It\u2019s not a left or right issue. Housing is a need, in our view, and there\u2019s a need right across the board for all different kinds of housing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the proposals for social housing that have languished in the Housing Now program are \u201clow-hanging fruit\u201d for Chow to tackle right off the bat, Lyall said. During their conversation they compared notes on international best practices including the successful program in Hong Kong, Lyall said, and also about the need for multiple players to work in parallel.<\/p>\n

Despite the fact she is generally on the left in broad political terms, he said, \u201cShe\u2019s quite pragmatic and I think she\u2019s going to want things to work. I don\u2019t think she\u2019s going to go off half-cocked on anything. She\u2019ll approach it carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toronto Construction Association vice-president of operations Suzana Fernandes commented that Chow\u2019s message combined hope and affordability, and said expectations across most industries are high.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to ensure that she is aware of the challenges our industry currently faces \u2014\u00a0removing red tape to support a faster development approvals process, addressing the high levels of development charges, and commit to\u00a0additional spending required to fix existing infrastructure as well as build new transportation and other public infrastructure,\u201d said Fernandes.<\/p>\n

The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) said it has sent mayor-elect Chow a letter requesting an opportunity to meet at her earliest convenience to discuss housing supply and affordability.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is widely acknowledged that the housing affordability crisis in Toronto is the consequence of inadequate housing supply,\u201d said BILD CEO Dave Wilkes. \u201cThis is a policy-driven problem and is therefore fixable. However, time is of the essence given the rate of population growth in the GTA.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Greater\u00a0Toronto Sewer and Watermain Contractors Association executive director Patrick McManus said the message Chow sent in her victory speech makes it clear she wants to work with all stakeholders to address Toronto\u2019s problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a tall task, but she is starting from the right spot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

McManus said his association hopes Chow will address the growing problem of how city contracts are managed, and in particular how it attempts to pass along too much risk to contractors. It has become an adversarial approach and many contractors are choosing not to\u00a0bid on city work, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese problems are unique to the city but are eminently fixable,\u201d McManus said.<\/p>\n

Nadia Todorova, executive director of the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario, issued a statement urging the new mayor to \u201cimprove wait times and costly delays in the development approval process, address slow and inconsistent procurement practices, and embrace innovative concepts like electronic permitting and the use of recycled crushed aggregate in infrastructure projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Progressive Contractors Association of Canada called on Chow to introduce open tendering on city projects. Chow has previously said she will maintain existing collective agreements with 10 building trades unions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to the opportunity to explain how the open tendering of city projects could save the city $347 million annually,\u201d said Stephen Hamilton, the PCA\u2019s director of public affairs for Ontario.<\/p>\n

Follow the author on Twitter @DonWall_DCN.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n