Thank you for the…

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Bill 66, Restoring Ontario's Competitiveness Act, 2018. Upon review, two schedules appear to be of particular interest to the City of Kitchener.

Schedule 9 — Amendments to the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Construction Employer Designation)

Kitchener's understanding is that Bill 66 would clarify that municipal governments are not construction employers. From a procurement perspective, Schedule 9 is a positive proposal. Currently, when Kitchener completes a tender for masonry work it is bound to use unionized masons because of this designation. The implementation of Bill 66 will remove this designation, opening-up the number of eligible bidders for these types of projects and ideally decreasing costs for the municipality.

Schedule 10 — Amendments to the Planning Act (‘Open For Business’ Tool)

Kitchener's understanding is that Bill 66 proposes introducing a new planning tool called "open for business" by-laws. Streamlining development approval processes is a key objective of its upcoming development services review, and in general speaks to the City’s commitment to improve customer service at-large through red tape reduction. To that end, the intent of Schedule 10 is both timely and relevant. The government’s goal to facilitate new, major employment uses is supported by Kitchener staff. The fact that the open for business by-law tool is intended to be optional for municipalities is also supported. However, the following observations are offered:

- It is unclear how the open for business tool will differ from a minister’s order. An opportunity may be to simply enhance the minister’s order framework.

- Exemption from certain regulations through open for business by-laws may carry different risks from one municipality to another. For example, Section 39 of the Ontario Clean Water Act, 2006 is a much more significant consideration in ground water dependent communities like the Waterloo region. Allowing greater flexibility for municipalities to select which regulations can be exempt by an open for business by-law could elevate any disincentives in pursuing this tool. It is also noted, however, that municipalities that decide not to participate due to environmental protection concerns may still be negatively impacted due to cross-boundary environmental impacts.

- In many communities, employers of 50 to 100 jobs are far from the largest. It may be more advantageous to consider a higher threshold, such as one that would justify a minister’s order.

- It is not clear if the focus of this tool is on industrial/business park employers, which require major capital investments, or all employment categories. Consider making it clear that the focus is on industrial/business park employers.

Bill 66 was discussed at the January 14, 2019 meeting of Kitchener City Council.

Thank you.