OPINION: Infrastructure must be a top issue in Ontario’s upcoming municipal elections 

Municipal infrastructure is the backbone that supports the living fabric of our communities. 

Our economic, social and cultural well-being and prosperity is contingent on the functioning of the pipes in the ground, the wires overhead, the roads, transit and services we use to meet the needs and demands of present and future residents. 

In the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), we are fortunate to turn on the tap and have access to clean, safe fresh water. We are able to plug in our fans and reliable electricity powers it, we generally have access to efficient and affordable transit, we flush the toilet and the wastewater is whisked away to be safely treated. 

So much depends on municipal infrastructure – including the provision of new housing, as after all, you cannot build a new home if you are unable to turn on the tap in that home, or flush the toilet. 

While not the most illustrious topic, how and when we build infrastructure and how it is funded must be one of the top issues in October’s Ontario municipal election.  

As citizens, so much of our everyday lives depend on the smooth functioning of municipal infrastructure. It only takes it not working, to be reminded of its significance once more.  

What people may not be aware of is how municipal infrastructure, or the lack thereof, impacts the supply and affordability of new homes.  

Across the GTA, there are countless examples of projects that cannot proceed or are facing delays because there is insufficient infrastructure capacity.  

We have an unfortunate track record in the GTA of investing in municipal infrastructure in fits and starts. We plan, fund and build much-needed infrastructure and celebrate the projects, and then stop building for a protracted period of time.  

Then, after a decade or two, we again find ourselves at the beginning of the infrastructure journey – we have a crisis, are in an infrastructure deficit, and then plan, fund and build once more. Afterwards, we once again celebrate the projects and then stop building.  

There are three challenges with this approach. 

First, this pattern becomes very expensive – municipalities have to deal with pent up infrastructure issues which means they are paying for yesterday’s costs, at present-day prices and with only tomorrow’s revenues to look forward to.   

Second, a disproportionate amount of the infrastructure cost invariably gets added to the cost of new development (both housing and commercial). This drives up the cost of these new buildings and either makes new housing more expensive, or new retail, industrial and commercial buildings more expensive. This ultimately undercuts the competitiveness of the region.  

And finally, this pattern of stopping and starting infrastructure building, creates disruption that impacts the provision of new housing and other forms of buildings. The instability and uncertainty that this creates discourages investment in the sector. 

This ultimately limits the supply of new housing and drives up costs and affects housing affordability.  

In this upcoming election, it is time we have a serious discussion about infrastructure – one that will lead us away from the “fits and starts approach,” towards a new system where we are continually assessing the infrastructure needs of the GTA. 

This means that we are consistently renewing the old and building the new to meet the growing needs of the region.  

Importantly, this discussion also must determine who pays for what. We can no longer pile costs onto the new home buyer or always expect higher orders of government to step in.  

Ratepayers need to be involved as we must recognize that the old mantra of “growth pays for growth” has led us down a path to decaying municipal infrastructure and capacity problems.  

After all, when the taps no longer turn on because a pumping station has broken down, the problem doesn’t distinguish between an old home or a new one. 

Dave Wilkes  is President and CEO of the Building Industry and Land Development Association.