Bill 17- Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025 - Accelerating Delivery of Transit-Oriented Communities

The government is seeking feedback on potential legislative and regulatory changes to help make it easier and faster to build new homes, businesses, and infrastructure like transit, roads, and water and wastewater systems as part of the proposed Bill 5, the proposed Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025 and associated regulations.

Changing the definition of Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC):  The Transit-Oriented Communities Act, 2020, currently defines a TOC project as part of a priority transit project; and located on transit corridor land. This definition excludes transit projects along the GO and LRT networks, reducing opportunities to develop mixed-used communities along these networks.

To address this, we are also proposing to expand the scope of a priority transit project under the Act to include provincial transit projects such as TOCs, mirroring the proposed amendments to the Building Transit Faster Act, 2020, led by the Ministry of Transportation.

Exempting approvals for municipal agreements and ancillary TOC project agreements: Order In Council approval is required to enter into agreements, which can slow down execution. The proposal would seek to exempt certain agreements from requiring an Order in Council approval when other approvals are in place.

Environmental Implications: By implementing the proposed changes, MOI will be accelerating the creation of more TOCs, which in turn would help create high-density, vibrant, mixed-use communities with more housing and jobs near transit stations. The related development and construction of these communities may have a negative impact to the environment, while encouraging people to use public transit in close proximity, which will reduce car dependency, traffic congestion and emissions.

Other Opportunities for Consultation: The ministry will be contacting targeted stakeholders including partner ministries and Indigenous communities to advise them of the proposed amendments.