The Progressive Conservative government was hounded about the Greenbelt after a contentious summer that led Premier Doug Ford to reverse his decision to develop 15 sites within the protected land. New housing and health legislation was tabled and opposition parties have moved forward to fight what they call Greenbelt 2.0.
Housing Minister Paul Calandra has said the government will not be reversing its decision. He says the changes to urban boundaries are completely separate from the decisions made about the Greenbelt.When the government reversed the Greenbelt decision, it said that it would be introducing legislation that would return the land but also codify the boundaries of the Greenbelt, ensuring that any future changes would have to be done by legislation and not just regulation.
The proposal, according to new regulations posted last week, would alter the definition to consider the housing costs that are affordable for households in the 60th percentile of gross annual income within the municipality. The Ontario Financial Accountability Office released a report on Wednesday saying the province spent about $40.2 billion in the first three months of the 2023-24 fiscal year, between April 1 and June 30. The Progressive Conservatives had originally allotted $42.8 billion in spending for this period
As part of the negotiations, if no collective agreement could be reached by Oct. 27, a third party would be brought in to make the final decisions on unresolved issues. Crombie has also said she will rturn from her leave of absence as Mississauga’s mayor to take part in the city’s budget process later this fall.Members of Provincial Parliament will return to the legislature on Oct. 16.This legislation changes the City of Toronto Act to allow the TTC to enter into an agreement with a municipality to allow them to operate, maintain or operate part of the transit system.