Guelph will be a “priority” for municipal audits as the provincial government looks to financially help cities in the wake of Bill 23, said Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy during a stop in the city on Thursday.
Bill 23 reduces the ability of municipalities to collect development charges and other fees on some new builds.
Provincial representatives have repeatedly stated their intent that municipalities will be “kept whole” financially as a result of the housing bill, though third-party audits of reserve funds will be done first.
“Guelph is among many of the communities and municipalities across Ontario that we’re going to be working very closely with,” Bethlenfalvy said while taking media questions following a funding re-announcement at the University of Guelph. “For specifics on the timing, that’s still being determined.
“Guelph is a priority,” Bethlenfalvy said.
Told of the minister’s comment, Mayor Cam Guthrie said it’s the first time he’d heard Guelph will be among the cities selected for an audit.
“It can be looked at through the lens of the audit findings to help us remain whole,” he said. “I’ve always been appreciative of internal types of audits because it either validates that everything is fine or it makes recommendations of things that we could look at in order to be better.
“The outcomes will be beneficial, I think, either way.”
During city budget confirmation discussions earlier this year, city staff pegged the loss of development charges and parkland dedications stemming from the implementation of Bill 23 at more than $1 million annually.
Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark announced earlier this month the City of Toronto will be the focus of the first audit but no other priority municipalities have been publicly identified until now.
During an Ontario Big City Mayors meeting in Kitchener with Clark, also on Thursday, Guthrie said he was told plans to audit other municipalities are moving forward, though no specifics were provided.
In February, city council unanimously approved a pledge to support the creation of 18,000 new housing units by 2031. That’s the city’s allocation under Bill 23, which has the stated goal of helping the development industry build 1.5 million new housing units province-wide by that same year.
However, council’s pledge called on upper-tier levels of government and others, including the development industry, to be held accountable for making changes on their end that will contribute to reaching that target.
In fact, a unanimously approved amendment made the pledge dependent upon provincial action.
Guelph will play a “key role” in helping the provincial government meet its housing target, Bethlenfalvy said Thursday.
“Our population is expanding and we’re almost at 15.4 million people, so … we need more housing and Guelph will play a key role in that.”
At 18,000, the city’s allocation is 1.2 per cent of the provincial government's overall goal.
Bethlenfalvy was at the university, alongside Lisa Thompson, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Jill Dunlop, Minister of Colleges and Universities, among others to re-announce nearly $15 million to establish a collaborative doctor of veterinary medicine program at the University of Guelph and Lakehead University in Thunder Bay.
That program, which was included in the 2023 provincial budget, is intended to create 20 new veterinary student seats per year.
