North Hurt By Prorogation
March 15, 2018NORTH BAY – A Private Members’ Bill to aimed at helping Northern forestry is among the casualties of today’s needless and desperate decision by Premier Wynne to prorogue the Legislature, said Interim Leader of the Official Opposition and Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli.
Fedeli’s Bill 169, the Ontario Forestry Revitalization Act (14-Storey Wood Buildings), 2017, was slated for Second Reading debate on March 29, but now instead dies on the Order Paper.
The Act would have amended the Ontario Building Code to allow for wood frame construction to be used in mid-rise buildings up to 14 stories, instead of the current six stories. In May 2017, Fedeli introduced a bill seeking an increase from six to 12 stories, which would accommodate a building being planned by George Brown College in Toronto. However, Fedeli introduced Bill 169 in October after the University of Toronto unveiled plans for a 14-storey wood frame building.
Fedeli originally introduced a Private Members’ Bill in 2012 seeking an increase in the maximum height of wood-frame buildings from four to six stories. That change was eventually adopted by the government in 2015.
“By increasing the use of wood harvested in residential construction, we help Northern Ontario by providing jobs, and we help southern Ontario meet targets to reduce urban sprawl and reduce construction costs,” said Fedeli.
“But instead, once again, we see Premier Wynne acting in her own self-interest, not the interests of Northerners or Ontario families on the whole.”