GuelphToday received the following Letter to the Editor from reader regarding the passage of Bill 23.
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Dear people of Guelph,
I am writing this short note in response to the passing of Bill 23 and to the housing development market in general.
As we all know, housing is at a premium, both for rentals and owned homes. As this article has stated, Bill 23 is in place for the benefit of housing developers. The issue is the market has been in favour of developers for at least a decade, probably more.
The reason I say this is that housing prices have been incredibly high, and until the pandemic, building materials, labour and equipment remained fairly steady, thus ensuring a high-profit margin. Now that prices are cooling, the cash cows aren't producing quite as much milk.
I would argue that Bill 23 is a tool being used by the Conservative provincial government to line the pockets of these developers so that, heaven forbid, their profits remain high. This is basic 'free market' capitalism, which is definitely not free. If the provincial government had the interests of the people of Ontario truly at heart, they would mandate certain numbers of homes to be built at a certain profit and fine the developers who don't. But this government won't do that.
If you're unhappy with the prices of rents and homes, I would look no further than the legislature at Queen's Park.
Brian Gibb, Guelph
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