Why Ontario Cities Are Sitting on 10 Billion in Cash

In this episode, Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt discuss the complexities of development charges in Ontario, highlighting how municipalities have accumulated over $10 billion in unspent infrastructure funds. They explore the implications of these taxes on housing affordability, the political dynamics influencing their increase, and the growing public awareness of the housing crisis.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:28 Understanding development charges
02:10 The accumulation $10 Billion in unspent infrastructure funds
04:28 Cities are sitting on huge piles of cash but it’s totally above board
06:30 The impact of development charges on housing affordability
08:11 The economy doesn’t care about your intent
09:30 Mike gets in a fight with a city councillor over dev charges
11:20 How a pile of cash improves bond ratings
13:00 Public awareness and pressure for change
15:00 Why Conservatives okay with such high D.C.s
17:07 Shout out to Burlington, Vaughn and Mississauga


Links:
Are Development Charges Fair to Millennials and Gen Z?
   • Are Development Charges Fair to Millennial...  

Development Charges: 10 Things You Need to Know About Housing Taxes in Ontario
https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.c...

Response from the CBC on my Complaints to the Ombudsman
  / response-from-the-cbc-on-my-complaints-to-...  

More Neighbours
https://www.moreneighbours.ca/

Hosts:
Sabrina Maddeaux https://x.com/SabrinaMaddeaux
Mike Moffatt   / mikepmoffatt   https://bsky.app/profile/mikepmoffatt...

Producer: Meredith Martin   / meredithmartin   https://bsky.app/profile/meredithmart...,   / meredith-martin-21108165  

This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/
Brought to you by the Missing Middle Initiative https://www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca/