The Ontario government is continuing to centralize realty functions, with 12 additional provincial agencies now tapped to lose autonomy. Bill 227, a newly tabled package of legislative amendments aimed at cutting red tape, proposes to modify statutes governing those agencies to clarify that they need authorizing consent from the Ministry of Infrastructure to acquire, lease or dispose of property.

The 12 agencies include

• Ontario Clean Water Agency;
• Ontario Heritage Trust;
• Venture Ontario;
• Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation;
• Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation;
• Ontario Building Fund;
• Agriculture Research and Innovation Ontario;
• Ontario Food Terminal Board;
• Nawiinginokiima Forest Management Corporation;
• Temagami Forest Management Corporation;
• Metrolinx; and
• Ontario Northland Transportation Commission.

It’s proposed the handover of control would take effect April 1, 2026. The public can submit comments through Ontario’s regulatory registry until Dec. 20, 2024.

Bill 227 also includes an amendment to the Legislative Assembly Act to establish that the Ministry of Infrastructure will have oversight of the planning and procurement related to renovating and restoring the legislative assembly’s home, known as Queen’s Park.

While it loses its autonomy on real estate functions, Metrolinx is in line for a break on the paperwork involved in developing new water distribution and sewage infrastructure as part of a transit project. The Ontario government is proposing to allow transit authorities to piggyback on municipality environmental approvals in cases where the new infrastructure is ultimately slated to be transferred to municipal ownership. This will eliminate the time and duplicate effort of applying separately for the approvals.

The proposal was announced in a list of red tape reduction initiatives released on Nov. 20. However, the public consultation on the matter closed on Nov. 11.

“The proposed regulatory amendments are expected to reduce regulatory burden for municipalities and transit authorities by eliminating duplicative approval requirements,” stated the regulatory impact analysis accompanying that consultation. “This will reduce burden on transit authorities and allow important transit projects to start sooner while maintaining environmental protection by requiring sewage and water systems to meet the ministry’s strict requirements.”