The Township of Papineau-Cameron wants more homes and less homeless.
Councillors have put forward a motion demanding the Ontario government amend the provincial building code to allow more homes to be built. Specifically, the township wants Doug Ford’s government to alter the code to include more preapproved housing plans.
Municipal staff detailed the goal is to “amend the Ontario Building Code to include provisions for preapproved affordable housing plans specifically aimed at supporting low-income and homeless individuals.”
Further, the council wants the province to create a set of preapproved housing designs. Staff detailed these designs would meet all codes “while being cost-effective and quick to construct.” The motion also called for flexible design standards which would allow for “innovative building designs and materials that meet affordability criteria.”
See: Feds hope new digital tool will help affordable housing in the north
Streamlining the planning and building process would create more homes, council noted. Also within the motion is a request for better community integration of these smaller homes. For example, making it easier to include tiny homes, modular units, and converted shipping containers into residential and rural spaces.
Papineau-Cameron’s resolution was also supported by the Municipality of East Ferris. East Ferris councillor, Terry Kelly, mentioned the proposal reminded him of Canada’s Post-War housing initiative. He said, “They built hundreds of thousands of homes, and they were cookie cutters, they were all the same, from North Bay to British Columbia.”
Kelly continued, “I think that’s the only way we’re going to solve some of the crisis that we’ve got going on now.”
“It’s an issue for every city in the North,” Kelly added.
Indeed, as Papineau-Cameron’s motion emphasized, “the crisis of homelessness in Ontario continues to affect thousands of individuals and families, necessitating urgent and effective housing solutions.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
