Several residential-construction sector advocacy groups have thrown their support behind the Ontario Government’s decision to resume above- and below-grade construction on high-rise units.

The Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON), Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) and the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) called the decision to expand the list of essential services to include such work a positive step toward meeting Ontarians’ housing needs, and rebooting the province’s economy.

“With almost two thirds of the new housing units delivered each year in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) being in high-rise buildings, the resumption of below-grade construction is absolutely vital to meeting the region’s housing needs,” said BILD president and CEO Dave Wilkes. He added that the move will help to spur the GTA’s economic recovery.

“Residential construction is an engine of the GTA economy, with every 1,000 housing units generating 2,600 direct and indirect jobs, paying half a billion dollars in wages and generating $600 million in economic activity.” 

“As Ontario looks toward getting our economy back online, residential construction activity is a key element of this,” said RESCON president Richard Lyall. “We support Premier Doug Ford’s methodical and thoughtful approach to opening up the province. Housing supply must proceed in an uninterrupted way as possible. The announcement of further expansion of residential construction activity is an excellent one.”

On May 6, the Ontario Government announced it had expanded the essential services order to include new below-grade work on multi-unit housing complexes, and above-ground work on projects already under construction. The announcement was the latest in a series of gradual measures taken by the province to restart construction on significant construction projects.

While work on essential infrastructure projects such as transit infrastructure and health care facilities has been allowed to continue throughout the pandemic, the province also announced that construction could resume on other projects such as colleges and universities, child-care centres, schools, and site preparation, excavation and site servicing work for institutional, commercial, industrial projects. Those sites re-opened on May 4.

Even with a gradual opening plan in place, the government has been careful to remind builders that health and safety concerns remain paramount. It has issued a series of more than 60 sector-specific guidelines for businesses to observe while resuming work. Several of these, developed in conjunction with the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association, target construction specifically.

In addition, the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development has hired dozens of inspectors to visit businesses to ensure safe working practices are being observed at all times.

“We applaud the Government of Ontario for taking steady and consistent steps to safely re-activate residential construction work,” said OHBA CEO Joe Vaccaro. “With enhanced health and safety policies, buildings across Ontario can resume construction and move closer to completion. This decision moves thousands of families closer to getting the keys for their new homes.”