Province Introduces Legislation to Accelerate Housing and Infrastructure Development

The Ontario government introduced the Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025. The proposed measures aim to help speed up the construction of new homes, transit and municipal infrastructure projects by cutting duplicative red tape, reforming the current framework for development charges, and streamlining standards for infrastructure projects.

In addition, the Ontario government has officially committed to exploring Public Utility Models for Water and Wastewater services – which has been a longstanding advocacy ask from the OSWCA, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, as well as other government and industry partners to implement alternative financing models for water and wastewater across Ontario.

Download the stakeholder briefing document here.

Highlights to Proposed Changes to Development Charges:

• Defer DC Payments Until Occupancy: Following the lead of the City of Mississauga, all residential developments will be deferred from DC payments until occupancy, rather than at time of permit. The government is also proposing changes to prevent municipalities from charging interest on deferred DC’s.
• Define Local Service Infrastructure: Proposing a new regulation-making authority to define what qualifies as local service infrastructure for DCs and make it consistent.
• DC Credit Flexibility: Proposing a new regulation-making authority to merge eligible DC service categories for applying DC credits.
• Mandatory Spending of DC Reserve Funds: Proposing regulatory changes to require municipalities to spend or allocate at least 60% of their DC reserve funds – a recent recommendation from the OSWCA.
  Making it Easier to Cut DC Rates: Amend the Act to enable municipalities to update their existing DC bylaws to reduce DC rates
  without the need to undertake certain procedural requirements, such as completing new DC background studies. Province Introduces Legislation to Accelerate Housing and Infrastructure Development
• Benefits to Existing Calculations: Province will consult on establishing consistent rules to properly account for existing resident benefit when setting DC rates.
• Exempt Long-Term Care Homes from Paying DC’s.

Highlights to Proposed Changes to Municipal Processes:

• Exploring Public Utility Models for Water and Wastewater Services: The government is committed to examining a publicly-owned utility model, such as a new type of municipal services corporation, to offer more flexible governance and financing options for delivering water and wastewater infrastructure. – A key advocacy priority for the OSWCA.
• Limiting the Number of Municipal Study Requirements for Development Applications: Amend the Planning Act and the City of Toronto Act to prohibit municipalities for requiring any new studies for complete applications that go beyond what is already required in official plans.
• Ensure Municipalities Abide to the Building Code: Prohibit municipalities from requiring their own standards beyond the Ontario Building Code.
• Conditions on Ministers Zoning Orders “MZOs”: The Minister will have the authority to impose conditions that must be met before an MZO comes into effect.
• Streamline Approvals for Construction Material: Currently, secondary provincial approvals are required for innovative construction products. The proposed changes will remove the secondary provincial approval. The province is also considering eliminating application fees for manufacturers and enabling more domestic supply and innovation.
• Updating Official Plans Based on New Population Forecasts: Municipalities experiencing higher growth areas will be required to update their official plans to align with the Ministry of Finance’s October 2024 population forecasts, or with an approved upper-tier forecast, whichever is higher.
• Streamlining the Development of Communal and Off-Grid Water Systems: The province will consult on streamlining municipal consents for communal water and sewage systems, as well as modular, privately funded/owned “off-grid” water treatment facilities to enable housing development in underserviced communities.

Highlights to Proposed Infrastructure and Construction Practices:

• Standardized Road Building Specifications: The province will consult on developing a framework to harmonize and standardize road building specifications and design across Ontario. – GTSWCA and TARBA joint ask here. The OSWCA is working in collaboration with ORBA and TARBA for these consultations.
• Acceleration of Critical Infrastructure Projects: Proposing changes to make it easier and faster to build new homes and infrastructure, such as water and wastewater.
• Speed Up Corridor Management Permits: Modernize MTO’s corridor management approvals process and accelerate the review and issuance of permits for work in and around highway corridors.