TORONTO, Canada – The Ontario government on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, introduced legislation that, if passed, would make it easier and faster to build transit, housing and other critical infrastructure.
The Get It Done Act would also help people keep more of their hard-earned money by banning new tolls on provincial highways and give them a veto over any future provincial carbon tax.
“Our government made a promise to get it done,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, minister of transportation. “Under the leadership of premier Ford, we’re delivering on that promise. We’re rebuilding our economy with better jobs and bigger paycheques. While previous governments neglected critical infrastructure, we’re getting shovels in the ground to build roads, highways and houses while we keep costs down for people and businesses. We’re getting it done.”
Last week, the government announced its intention to ban new tolls on provincial highways, automate the licence plate renewal process and legislate the current freeze on driver’s licence and Ontario Photo Card fees. The province also announced it would protect people and businesses from the high cost of a provincial carbon tax by requiring the government to first obtain the consent of Ontario voters through a referendum before implementing a new provincial carbon pricing program.
“Carbon pricing schemes on the backs of taxpayers are unfair, especially at a time when residents, workers and businesses across the province are seeing their hard-earned dollars stretched further than ever. We have a responsibility to do everything we can to keep costs down and find ways to put money back into people’s pockets and that includes giving voters a direct say before implementing any new provincial carbon pricing program,” said minister of finance, Peter Bethlenfalvy.
The Ontario government is also moving forward with several other initiatives aimed at streamlining building approvals to get shovels in the ground sooner on roads, highways and public transit, as well as other key infrastructure projects.
These initiatives include:
- Declaring the Hazel McCallion Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line Extensions to the downtown Mississauga loop and downtown Brampton as a priority transit project under the Building Transit Faster Act, 2020.
- Moving more projects to a streamlined environmental assessment process that would help get critical infrastructure such as highways, railways and transmission lines built faster to support Ontario’s growing population, while continuing to protect the environment.
- Exploring opportunities to improve the permitting process for mine development and operation to ensure the province’s mining sector remains competitive and attractive to investors.
The government is also proposing amendments to the Official Plan Adjustments Act, 2023 that, if passed, would modify the legislatively approved official plans for some of Ontario’s fastest-growing municipalities to better reflect both local and provincial priorities.
“As Ontario continues to experience unprecedented growth, it is critical that our province’s infrastructure is upgraded and modernized to accommodate the everyday needs of people across the province. The Get It Done Act would make the approvals process more efficient by reducing red tape and potential delays, ensuring we get shovels in the ground faster to deliver the critical infrastructure Ontarians deserve today, and for future generations to come,” said minister of infrastructure Kinga Surma.
Quick facts:
- The government is investing $28 billion over the next 10 years to renew, build and expand roads and highways. This includes building the Bradford Bypass and Highway 413, which will help reduce travel times up to 30 minutes each way, saving drivers an hour a day on one of the most congested corridors in North America.
- The ban on new provincial highway tolls would apply to the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway, once uploaded to the province, as well as Ontario’s 400-series highways.
- The Hazel McCallion LRT will provide one of Canada’s quickest-growing cities with faster, more frequent and more reliable transit than the existing bus service, travelling in an exclusive right-of-way with signal priority at intersections.
- To help Ontario families and businesses keep costs down, the government extended the gas and fuel tax rate cuts through to June 30, 2024. Along with the rate cuts previously in place, this extension is expected to save households $260 on average since the cuts were first implemented in July 2022.
- Until the automatic renewal process begins, drivers are still required to renew their licence plates at no cost, which can be done online or in person at ServiceOntario.
- The automatic renewal process will only be available to drivers in good standing who do not have outstanding fines or tickets.
