Prepared by: Jennifer Stuart
The Brantford Home Builders’ Association participated in the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) Queen’s Park Advocacy Day, where members met directly with provincial ministers, parliamentary assistants, opposition representatives, and senior government staff to discuss key housing and construction industry priorities.
Representing BHBA, EO Jennifer Stuart and Mike Shane from Paris Kitchens, participated in a series of meetings focused on housing affordability, infrastructure servicing, regulatory modernization, skilled trades, and barriers impacting housing supply across Ontario.
Meetings Attended
Jennifer Stuart met with:
- Nolan Quinn — responsible for post-secondary education, skilled trades training, research, and workforce development initiatives
- Mike Schreiner — leader of Ontario’s Green Party and opposition housing and environmental policy advocate
- Will Bouma — supporting provincial coordination with municipalities and intergovernmental policy matters
- Dave Smith — supporting provincial financial and economic policy initiatives
Mike Shane met with:
- Amarjot Sandhu — supporting infrastructure planning and provincial infrastructure investment initiatives
- Representatives from the office of Stephen Crawford — responsible for consumer services, regulatory modernization, and public business administration
- Prabmeet Sarkaria — responsible for transportation infrastructure, highways, and transit systems across Ontario
- Will Bouma — supporting provincial coordination with municipalities and intergovernmental policy matters
Key Discussion Topics
The advocacy discussions focused on several major industry concerns currently impacting housing delivery and affordability:
- The continued impact of development charges, taxes, and fees on housing affordability
- Delays and inefficiencies within municipal approvals and permitting systems
- Infrastructure servicing limitations restricting housing growth in many communities
- The need for alternative infrastructure funding mechanisms
- Skilled labour shortages and the importance of increased support for trades training and workforce development
- Building Code modernization and the importance of regulatory consistency across municipalities
- Consumer protection and industry professionalism through improved enforcement and renovator licensing discussions
OHBA’s current advocacy platform, Raising the Standard: A Practical Plan to Deliver Real Housing Outcomes, emphasizes practical and measurable reforms designed to improve housing supply and affordability throughout Ontario.
Key Observations
Government representatives appeared engaged and receptive to hearing direct examples from builders and industry professionals regarding the real-world impacts of policy decisions, approval delays, infrastructure shortages, and financing uncertainty.
There was acknowledgement from several representatives that recent provincial actions surrounding housing taxes, development charges, and regulatory reform are beginning to move the industry in a positive direction. However, there remains significant concern within the industry regarding implementation timelines, infrastructure capacity, and ongoing affordability challenges.
The meetings reinforced the importance of continued advocacy and collaboration between government and the residential construction industry to ensure policies remain practical, achievable, and supportive of housing growth.
Conclusion
The advocacy day provided a valuable opportunity for BHBA representation at Queen’s Park and allowed members to directly communicate industry concerns and recommendations to decision-makers. Continued participation in OHBA advocacy efforts remains important to ensuring the voice of the residential construction industry is heard as housing policy and regulatory reforms continue to evolve.
