Update Announcement
The first bullet describing Schedule 7: Ministry of Government and Consumer Services should read: "Propose amendments to the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000, that allow the Minister to review and approve alternate rules created by the Technical Standards and Safety Authority."
This consultation was open from:
December 6, 2018
to January 20, 2019
Decision summary
Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2019, received Royal Assent on April 3, 2019. This Act is the second bill implementing Ontario’s Open for Business Action Plan to stimulate business investment, create good jobs, and make Ontario more competitive by cutting unnecessary regulations that are inefficient, inflexible or out of date.
Decision details
On December 6, 2018, the government introduced Bill 66 – the proposed Restoring Ontario's Competitiveness Act, 2018. The Bill was approved on April 3, 2019.
The bill was approved as introduced, except for the following changes that were made during the legislative process:
- Removal of Schedule 10, which contained the proposed amendments to the Planning Act.
- Housekeeping amendment to maintain the status quo regarding the exclusion of pawnbroker transactions under the Personal Property Security Act.
- Amendment of section 14 in Schedule 9 to:
- Expand the list of broader public sector entities that would be deemed to be non-construction employers under the Bill to ensure that all relevant municipal sector entities are included.
- Allow broader public sector employees who would be deemed non-construction employers and that already have construction industry bargaining relationships, to opt out of the proposed deemed non-construction employer provisions of the Labour Relations Act, 1995.
Effects of consultation
We considered all feedback received during the comment period for this posting. We received comments from a wide range of interested parties, including:
- individual members of the public
- industry and industry associations
- municipalities
- non-governmental organizations
The majority of the comments received related to:
- repeal of the Toxics Reduction Act, 2009 in Schedule 5;
- proposed amendments to the Planning Act in Schedule 10
Schedule 5, Repeal of the Toxics Reduction Act, 2009:
Industry was supportive of the proposed repeal of the Toxics Reduction Act, 2009. The public and non-governmental organizations were not supportive of the proposed repeal of the Toxics Reduction Act, 2009. The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks also led consultations on this schedule. Their decision notice can be found here.
Schedule 10, Amendments to the Planning Act:
Some comments expressed support, in principle, for proposed changes that would help to streamline development approvals and support economic development opportunities. However, a much larger number of comments were received identifying concerns about such things as:
- public health and safety, the environment, drinking water and Ontario’s Greenbelt
- the effect of provincial and municipal plans/policies and other related legislation on such by-laws
- the minimum requirements for consultation and notification, and
- a lack of appeal opportunities.
The government indicated that an open-for-business planning by-law would never have been approved at the expense of the Greenbelt or provincial interests like water quality or public health and safety. In considering the feedback received, the government decided it did not want to proceed with Schedule 10 of Bill 66. On March 20, 2019, Schedule 10 was removed from the Bill following a vote by members of the Standing Committee on General Government.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing also led consultation on this schedule. The decision notices from their consultations can be found here and here.
Other Schedules
A limited number of the comments received pertained to the remaining schedules of the Act. Concerns were raised about the effects of red tape reduction on public interests. The government remains committed to reducing unnecessarily burdensome red tape while maintaining standards to keep the environment, Ontario workers, and families safe and healthy.
Supporting materials
View materials in person
Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.
Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.
777 Bay Street
13th floor
Toronto,
ON
M5G 2E5
Canada
Connect with us
Contact
Michael Helfinger
56 Wellesley Street West
11th Floor
Toronto,
ON
M5S 2S3
Canada
Original proposal
Proposal details
The proposed Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018, if passed, would make the following legislative changes:
Schedule 1: Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs
- Remove outdated and time-consuming reporting requirements under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Act, including ones required for loan guarantee programs.
- Amend the Agricultural Employees Protection Act (AEPA) to cover ornamental horticultural workers.
- Enable amendments under the Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act to simplify delivery of programs and enhance responsiveness.
Schedule 2: Ministry of the Attorney General
- Repeal the Pawnbrokers Act.
Schedule 3: Ministry of Education
- Remove restrictions on home-based child care providers, including allowing additional children, to make it easier for parents to find affordable child care.
- Lower the age of children that authorized recreation programs can serve from 6 to 4.
Schedule 4: Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines
- Repeal the authority of the Ontario Energy Board to set rates for Unit Sub Metering Providers (USMPs)
Schedule 5: Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
- Repeal the Toxics Reduction Act, 2009 by 2021, remove the toxics reduction plan in 2019 and rely on the robust and science-based Federal Chemicals Management Plan
Schedule 6: Ministry of Finance
- Stop requiring a new regulation whenever businesses and non-profits merge single-employer pension plans into jointly sponsored pension plans.
Schedule 7: Ministry of Government and Consumer Services
- Reduce where operating engineers are required to supervise.
- Repeal the Wireless Services Agreements Act, 2013 and harmonize with the federal government’s national wireless code.
Schedule 8: Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
- Modernize and streamline administrative requirements for the operators of long-term care homes.
Schedule 9: Ministry of Labour
- Amend the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) to reduce regulatory burden on businesses, including no longer requiring them to obtain approval from the Director of Employment Standards for excess hours of work and overtime averaging.
- Stop requiring employers to post the Employment Standards Act (ESA) poster in the workplace, but retain the requirement that they provide the poster to employees.
- Amend the Labour Relations Act, 1995 to explicitly deem public bodies, including municipalities, school boards, hospitals, colleges and universities, as “non-construction employers”.
Schedule 10: Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
- Introduce a new economic development tool and remove planning barriers to expedite major business investments and speed up approvals by about two years.
Schedule 11: Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities
- Amend the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 to reduce administrative burdens.
Schedule 12: Ministry of Transportation
- Allow electronic documentation for International Registration Plans
Purpose of the Act
- The proposed Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018 is the second package in the Ontario Open for Business Plan that helps the government reduce its red tape.
- The Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018 was the first step by the government to eliminate unnecessary costs and burdens to businesses in Ontario.
- The government is committed to bringing forward a series of red tape reduction packages over the coming years to eliminate or reduce costly requirements on Ontario businesses, while improving Ontario’s competitiveness.
Supporting materials
View materials in person
Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.
Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.
900 Bay Street, Hearst Block
7th Floor
Toronto,
ON
M6H 4L1
Canada
Comment
Commenting is now closed.
This consultation was open from December 6, 2018
to January 20, 2019
Connect with us
Contact
Michael Helfinger
56 Wellesley Street West
11th Floor
Toronto,
ON
M5S 2S3
Canada
Comments received
Through the registry
3,474By email
22,488By mail
70