Bill 60 - Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 – Amendments to the Building Transit Faster Act, 2020

The government is seeking public feedback on proposed legislative and regulatory changes under the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 to streamline the construction of new homes and infrastructure (e.g., water, wastewater, roads, transit), reduce gridlock, enhance community safety, and improve landlord-tenant frameworks.

The Building Transit Faster Act, 2020 (BTFA) introduces measures that streamline project delivery and support the accelerated completion of provincial transit projects. The BTFA applies to the planning and construction of provincial transit projects and provides:

• Requirements for owners of adjacent land and infrastructure to obtain a corridor development permit for construction and development activities that may interfere with transit construction.
• The ability to enter lands for due diligence work (e.g., soil testing), removal of obstructions and encroachments (e.g., trees), addressing imminent danger to construction and for the purpose of ensuring that a permit or stop work order is being complied with.
• A streamlined land assembly process.
• A framework for enhanced coordination of utility relocations to support better management of project scheduling and costs.
• The ability for the Minister to issue an order outlining conditions where Metrolinx could use or modify municipal assets such as roadways and certain municipal services.

The proposed amendments include the following:

• Reducing notice periods for Obstruction Removal and Preview Inspections: The notice period for Obstruction Removal and Preview Inspections to third-party land owners will be reduced from 30 days to 15 days.
• Expanding Corridor Control and Municipal Service and Right of Way Access: Parts II (Corridor Control) and V (Municipal Service and Right of Way Access) of the BTFA will apply not only to construction but also to operations and maintenance of transit projects.
• Expanding the application of Municipal Service and Right of Way Access to other municipal infrastructure: The scope of municipal service and right of way access orders under Part V of the Act will be broadened to include “buildings, bridges, tunnels and life safety systems” which are required for project delivery.
  • Permitting the Minister to add other municipal infrastructure under Part V: The Minister can prescribe, by regulation, additional municipal infrastructure for which municipal service and right of way access order applies to.
• Expanding Municipal Service and Right of Way Access to add relocation and alteration of, and connections to municipal services, right of way, and infrastructure: Currently Part V of the Act is limited to use, access to and modification of the same.
• Providing the Minister the option to delegate its powers under Part V: The Minister will be able to delegate authority to issue municipal service and right of way access orders to Metrolinx, or an MTO official through regulation, upon such delegation conditions as the Minister deems appropriate and depending on the circumstances of the project.

If the amendments are approved, Ontarians are expected to see provincial transit projects built faster that connect communities reduce congestion and support economic growth.

Key environmental risks from the proposed changes are expected to be the same set of risks associated with large-scale public transit construction projects. These may include tree removals, excavation, impacts to waterways, air quality/emissions, vibration and noise pollution, light pollution, and temporary traffic routes in local communities. As construction work continues on provincial transit projects and additional projects are identified, project-specific environmental impacts will be assessed.

Metrolinx maintains the following mitigation strategies for potential environmental impacts:

• Removing trees only when necessary (and outside of bird nesting season) and a commitment to replant more trees than were removed.
• Maintaining an ISO14001 Environmental Management System to ensure compliance to environmental regulations and to drive continuous environmental improvement.
• Using a risk-based approach in identifying significant environmental aspects and ensuring appropriate controls and measures are implemented to mitigate negative environmental impacts.
• Minimizing greenhouse gas emissions and striving towards a net zero carbon footprint through sustained efforts and technological innovation including decarbonization of its fleet and facilities.
• Use of green building practices to the extent possible, that embrace the idea of minimizing energy consumption through smart and innovative design choices, use of sustainable materials, renewable energy generation, and technological advancement.