NDP: New reports find MZOs don’t speed up housing – so why does Ford keep handing them out?

NIAGARA – Today an investigative report in the Toronto Star revealed that Ministerial Zoning Orders (MZOs) have done little to speed up housing starts during Ford’s first years in office – despite the Conservatives’ frequent insistence on handing them out. MPP Jeff Burch (Niagara Centre), NDP critic for Municipal Affairs, issued the following response:

“This report directly undermines Ford’s repeated claim that handing out MZOs to wealthy insiders is necessary to build housing. Today, he learned that’s just not true – in some cases it’s even slowed down development. Either Ford has no idea how his favourite MZO tool works – or he knows it isn’t useful, and hands them out anyway. Is he just handing out favours to wealthy insiders?

We need to get to the bottom of this behaviour and get serious about real solutions to help build affordable housing. The Ontario NDP are bringing solutions to the table while Ford is handing out favours to land speculators and wedding guests.

I look forward to having more light shed on this through another ongoing Auditor General’s investigation. With Ford under RCMP criminal investigation, there’s a shadow cast over all his decisions.”

QUICK FACTS

• MZOs are a repeated favourite tool of the Ford government. With the stroke of a pen, they can instantly increase the value of land.
• The Ontario NDP found that 18 MZOs were given just to the guests at a Ford family wedding – the same number that was handed out in 15 years by the former Liberal government.
• On October 10, the Auditor General confirmed to the Ontario NDP that they had launched an investigation into the Ford government’s use of MZOs
• A Global News report found that one fast-tracked government MZO proposed a 50-storey tower directly in middle of the flight path of Pearson International Airport. The province had to quietly amend the MZO after airport officials were forced to intervene.