The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing was the guest of Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson for a roundtable discussion in Teeswater on Saturday.
More than 20 municipal representatives and other stakeholders met to discuss the housing shortage that exists in the riding and throughout much of Ontario.
Minister Steve Clark said the discussion centred around five specific areas.
"Cost, speed, mix, rent and innovation," he said. "And we really asked the people in the room today to give us some suggestions on how we can build the right type of housing, in the right place, that people can afford."
Clark acknowledged the local politicians are the ones who know what's going on in their communities. He added that one size doesn't fit for everyone, so they have to look at different approaches for each community and the ministry has to be flexible in dealing with municipal partners.
Clark said he has to work with the municipalities on things like zoning and planning, and then if something gets appealed under the new LPAT system and it takes two or three years to get to a hearing, then he's failed, so he has to take a pragmatic approach and listen to his municipal partners.
"Rent is a challenge because there are competing interests, you've got landlords who say it's hard to be a landlord, there are too many regulations, but at the same time you'll have tenants that say we want protections from unlawful evictions, we want some protections to make sure rental conditions are adequate," said Clark.
Clark adds there are some creative options available for home ownership and he's looking forward to hearing some of the innovative ideas that are out there.
