Ontario doesn’t have one building code; it has 444 bespoke, local versions thanks to municipal bylaws and zoning. This fragmentation is a core driver of the 'missing middle' housing crisis.

Layer on historic government overreach, part-time councillors — with no term limits leading to endless incumbency — and we built the perfect ecosystem for NIMBYism to thrive.

And it didn’t start benignly: zoning was designed to control who lived where, often coded around keeping “those people” out. Sadly, that legacy still shapes how communities block change today.

In reality, less red tape and simpler codes would have delivered more complete, connected, and affordable communities instead of the patchwork we have now.