b'2022 TORONTO ELECTIONS2022TORONTOELECTIONSHOW THE RESULTS ARE EXPECTED TO IMPACT CONSTRUCTION ISSUES IN THE GTA By Matthew BradfordON OCTOBER 24, RESIDENTSweve seen thousands of people take upMAYORAL CAMPAIGNof the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)residence in condos in areas of TorontoFor Tory, the latest win represents his went to the polls for the 2022 mayoralthat were once largely commercial, andthird term in the mayoral seata record and municipal elections. To no onesthe city has struggled to balance thefor the city. His opponents had platforms surprise, incumbent John Tory was onceneeds of those residents against thethat included not wanting to pit residents more re-elected as the citys mayor.demands of ongoing construction. against construction companies, asThere were 30 mayoral candidateswell as reducing the red tapelooking to replace him, but the closestMollenhauer observed that the citysdevelopers must endure in the project runner-up, Gil Penalosa, only manageddesire to protect Torontonians from theapproval process.to garner 17.85 per cent of the votes,risks and disruptions of construction is compared to Torys 62 per cent. understandable. The challenge, however,Tory was vocal about his plans to build is that new and long-standing bylawsa stronger city. In a statement prepared The election arrived at a time ofdictating where and when constructionfor TCA, his campaign team cited his competing priorities within the can take place have made it morecommitment to cutting red tape and GTA. Top election issues included thecomplex and time-consuming to build.accelerating the approval times for need for more affordable housing, transitAs a result, construction costs continuehomebuilders by creating a Development improvements, healthcare to rise, turning potential investors andand Growth Division (DGD). As he system reform, enhanced public skilled talent away from the GTA towardexplained: A new DGD at City Hall would safety measures, and support formore cost-effective alternatives. act as a one-stop shop for handling businesses impacted by currentall aspects of development review, economic conditions.streamline the approval process, speed We as an industry are bound by soup and reduce approval times, and There were also issues specific to themany restrictions, explains Mollenhauer.better manage city growth.construction community. TCA presidentWith the new bylaws around noise and John Mollenhauer noted the need toconstruction traffic congestion, it feelsBeyond the DGD, Tory announced a re-evaluate the bylaws and logisticalas though the pendulum has swung toofive-point plan that looks critically at barriers that have been making itfar in a direction that is making it morewhere we can streamline and modernize increasingly difficult to keep up withdifficult for the construction communityprocesses at City Hall to make it easier construction demands: For example,to do their job. and faster for homebuilders to increase 36Quarter 32022 BUILDERSDIGEST'