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FORUM: Coping with heat is the new norm (Aug. 2025)

September 29th, 2025 · No Comments

Government needs to lead with solutions, not let people suffer

By Jessica Bell

What can Ontario do to address extreme heat?

We are enduring a summer of record-breaking heat, and it’s going to get worse. The Ontario government’s 2023 assessment of the impact of climate change on our province predicts the number of days above 30 degrees will soar to 60 days a year by the 2080s. 

We have two massive tasks ahead of us. We need to continue to pressure the Conservative government to enact a serious plan to get to net-zero and build a sustainable economy, while also taking steps to ensure our survival. 

Floods and fires get a lot of attention, but heat is responsible for more illness and deaths than most other extreme weather hazards combined. Here’s five steps the Ontario government should do to protect us from extreme heat.

Protect workers from heat stress

In 2001, a 44-year-old bakery worker named Kim Douglas Warner died at Weston Bakeries in Barrie. Kim had worked a 12-hour shift in 49-degree heat, on a 34-degree day. His temperature reached 42.5 degrees Celsius when he was found unconscious near the ovens.  

Workers in schools, factories, mines, and kitchens are vulnerable to heat stress, as are low-wage workers who are active outdoors, such as farm workers, paramedics, delivery and postal workers, garbage workers, and workers in construction.  

The Ontario government is consulting on new rules to protect workers from extreme heat, but the rules are weak and one-size-fits-all.

The Ontario Federation of Labour and the NDP are calling for far stronger measures, including a sector-specific approach, paid breaks to cool down, the installation of ventilation and air-conditioning, access to water, protective equipment, and schedule adjustments to avoid the hottest parts of the day.

Establish a maximum temperature standard for rental apartments

It is miserable to live in a boiling apartment during the summer months, and for our most vulnerable residents, it has become deadly. The devastating heat waves in British Columbia in 2021 killed 777 people, and most of the dead were elderly, sick, disabled, and alone in homes without air-conditioning. 

To keep tenants safe from dangerous heat waves, the province should establish a maximum temperature bylaw for homes (public health agencies usually land on 26 degrees) and make window air-conditioning a vital service.

After a sustained public pressure campaign, the province passed legislation permitting tenants to install an air-conditioning window unit, however, the legislation isn’t in force. Toronto is studying bringing in a maximum temperature bylaw.

Ontario should upgrade and build climate-resilient infrastructure

Extreme heat puts incredible pressure on infrastructure; roads can buckle, and electricity usage skyrockets, leading to brownouts.

The Association of Municipalities in Ontario (AMO), which is the organization that represents Ontario’s municipalities, calculates that municipalities need up to $290 billion over the next 10 years to accommodate growth, manage climate change, and keep existing infrastructure in good repair, such as roads, water systems, and sewerage pipes. This is a good investment.

Instead of investing in municipalities, Ontario has cut municipal funding and made it harder for municipalities to raise money for infrastructure from development fees.

Improve the quality of existing and new homes. 

New homes should be well-made, well-insulated, and energy efficient. These homes are cheaper to cool in summer, they are better able to withstand extreme heat, and they produce less greenhouse gas emissions.

Under the false guise of spurring housing construction, the Conservatives passed a law (Bill 17) which invalidates Toronto and 13 other municipalities’ green building policies. These policies required new buildings to meet higher environmental performance and energy efficiency benchmarks than the provincial standard. Bad move.

New construction alone isn’t enough to lower Canada’s carbon emissions. Ontario has established a fund at homerenovationsavings.ca to provide rebates to homeowners for insulation, heat pumps, better windows and doors, battery storage, and more, but the program will end this December. Ontario does not have a plan to incentivize or mandate the retrofitting of community housing and private-market rental buildings. It should.

Embrace nature

Trees are marvelous at providing shade and cooling homes and neighbourhoods down by as much as six degrees Celsius. The City of Toronto has a policy to protect and expand its tree canopy from 28 per cent coverage to 40 per cent by 2050. The province should help them.

Extreme heat is a serious and escalating challenge, and we will continue to push for solutions that help us protect ourselves while cutting down on climate pollution.

Jessica Bell is the MPP for University-Rosedale and the Shadow Minister for Finance and the Treasury Board. You can reach her office at jbell-co@ndp.on.ca or 416-535-7206.

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Tags: Annex · Columns · Opinion