1) The Province should…

1) The Province should provide further clarity on what aspects of contracts pertaining to road and bridge construction the Minister is allowed to govern. The scope is currently unclear and if the Minister is able to govern beyond the technical aspect of contracts.

2) Staff recommends that municipalities should retain the ability to decide on exemptions from standards. Staff would not be supportive of having to go through a process to request an exemption as it would add complexity to a project and cause delays. If implemented, staff suggests implementing a yearly audit to ensure municipal compliance with harmonized standards and logged exemptions could be investigated by the Province.

3) The Province should consult and collaborate closely with municipalities to establish an efficient process for requesting an exemption from a standard.

4) The Province should provide training or provide municipalities with funding for training to municipal staff on the new standards to follow.

5) The Province should provide additional funding to municipalities if the standardizations yields higher costs of construction than the ones currently used by a municipality.