Province outlines sweeping changes in COVID omnibus bill
The Ontario government has announced a number of changes to several pieces of legislation as part of its plan to restore the economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The proposed reforms were announced in the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, which the province expects will boost economic recovery, create thousands of jobs, get infrastructure projects built faster, and improve the quality of life in every community across the province.
Several of the reforms will affect the way in which construction is procured or performed.
Building Code Act: The Ontario government is making it easier and faster to update the building code. The minister of municipal affairs and housing will have the authority to make regulations that will streamline the building code development process, align it with national construction codes and enable Ontario to respond faster to construction sector needs. Doing so will reduce inter-provincial trade barriers and support economic growth.
Environmental infrastructure projects: The government is proposing improvements to its Environmental Compliance Approval process to provide a single, consolidated approval process for low-impact municipal sewage collection and stormwater management projects. The proposed approach would mean that routine changes by municipalities could be pre-authorized to begin construction without needing separate approvals for each project. Doing so would empower municipalities to build critical infrastructure faster, and eliminate costly construction delays.
Environmental Assessment Act: The government is proposing changes that will improve the environmental assessment program. The changes focus resources on projects that have the highest impact on the environment, reduce timelines by half for the largest projects, and match the level of assessment requirements with the level of environmental impact so critical infrastructure projects can get off the ground without undue delay.
Planning Act: Proposed updates will reduce red tape and speed up transit construction, the development of affordable housing and construction projects that are not in the Greenbelt. When making a zoning order, the minister of municipal affairs and housing would have the authority to apply inclusionary zoning and address site plan matters.
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Act: The government is proposing to permanently establish the Office of the Provincial Land and Development Facilitator. The facilitator will continue to provide advice and make recommendations to the minister of municipal affairs and housing on growth and land-use planning matters.
Occupational Health and Safety Act: An amendment to the Occupational Health and Safety Act will allow nationally and internationally recognized standards to be updated more regularly without requiring regulatory amendments. Doing so can help give employers and workers access to more current information on workplace standards.
Transit-oriented communities: The government is advancing the transit-oriented communities program, which will help build communities that are centred around transit stations along the four priority subway projects. The approach provides opportunities to build complete, mixed-use communities that are connected to transit.
Public transportation and highway improvements: The Ontario government is looking at ways to accelerate key provincial highway construction projects by identifying and proposing changes that would remove potential "bottlenecks", allowing construction to start earlier and finish sooner.