HomeMy WebLinkAboutDSD-19-026 - Bill 66REPORT TO:Special Council
DATE OF MEETING:January 14, 2019
SUBMITTED BY:Justin Readman,General Manager, Development Services,519-741-
2200 ext. 7646
PREPARED BY:Alain Pinard,Director of Planning,519-741-2200 ext. 7319
Margaret Fisher,Director of Procurement,519-741-2200 ext. 7214
WARD (S) INVOLVED:All
DATE OF REPORT:January 9, 2019
REPORT NO.:DSD-19-026
SUBJECT:BILL66, RESTORINGONTARIOSCOMPETITIVENESS ACT, 2018
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RECOMMENDATION:
ThatReport DSD-19-026, be submitted asCity of Kitchener Staffcommentsto the Ministry
2018; and further,
That a copy of Report DSD-19-026 be sent tothe Association of Municipalities of Ontario,
the Premier, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, and Waterloo Region Members of Provincial
Parliament.
BACKGROUND:
The
legislature on December 6, 2018. Bill 66 comprises12 schedules and affects 18 different pieces
of provincial legislation, including legislation of interest to municipalities.A brief summary of the
Bill, which identifies all of the affected legislation, is attached as Appendix A.
According to the Province of Ontario the proposed amendments are to
investment, create good jobs, and to make Ontario more competitive by cutting unnecessary
regulations that are inefficient, inflexible or out This report provides an overview and
comments with respect to Schedules 9 and 10, which are of particular interest to the City of
Kitchener. The deadline for comments is January 20, 2019.
***This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994for assistance.
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REPORT:
Schedule 9 Amendments to the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Construction Employer
Designation)
The proposed amendments would clarify that municipal governments are not construction
employers. From a procurement perspective, Schedule 9 is a positive proposal for the City.
Currently, when the City completes a tender involvingmasonry work it is bound to use unionized
masons because of this designation. The implementation of Bill 66 will remove this restriction,
opening-up the number of eligible bidders for these types of projects and would likely decrease
costs for the municipality.
Schedule 10
Context
Bill 66 proposes a new planning tool called an "open-for-business" planning by-law.An open-
for-businessplanning by-law would allow municipalities to exempt development proposalsfor
major employment uses from a long list of statutory provisions, policiesand regulations and
all provincial
plans(e.g. Growth Plan), the Provincial Policy Statement, all applicable official plans,section 39
of the Clean Water Act, and numerous Planning Act provisions. A major employment use is
defined as an employer that provides 50 jobs in municipalities with a population of less than
250,000 and 100 jobs in a larger municipality.
The City of Kitchenersupports
establishment of new major employment uses. Major employers are important assets to
communities and often provide benefits that go beyond job creation and economic gain. The
City of Kitcheneralso support the fact open-for-business planning by-laws are an optional tool.
That is, municipalities do not have to pass such a by-law. However, several aspects of Schedule
10give rise to concern or require clarification.
Environmental and Safety Concerns
Twill vary from one particular
to another and from one municipality to another. For example, Section 39 of the
Ontario Clean Water Act, 2006, is a very significant consideration in ground water dependent
communities like the Region of Waterloo.There is major risk associated with exempting
development from source water protection plans. Given the potential safety implications to the
the City of Kitchener does not support this aspect of the Bill. The
Province is urged to consider
be exempted by an open-for-business planning by-law. The environmental risks associated with
many of the exemptions are a disincentive for pursuing this tool.
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Municipalities that decide not to adopt an open-for-business planning by-law due to
environmental protection concerns may still be negatively impacted due to cross-boundary
environmental impacts.
Employment Definition Concerns
There are concerns with defining major employers by the number of employees. Since the
proposed changes do not contain sufficient detail the City of Kitchener has questions regarding
how the number of employees would be ensured over time, whether there would be a distinction
between full and part-time employeesand what mechanisms would be in place to ensure jobs
continue to meet this threshold over time.In addition, it is not clear what happens to a land use
approved underan open-for-business planning by-law if the employer is bought out, forced to
lay off employees or goes bankruptor whether theagreement be transferable.
If major employers are to be defined by the number of employees, we urge the Province to
consider thresholdsthat are much higher than 50 and 100 jobs (depending on population size).
of 50 and 100 jobs are far from the largest in most communities. The thresholds should be
comparable to levels Zoning Order. We also question why the Bill
does not simply enhance the MiniZoning Order framework.
Efficiency and Consultation Concerns
The City of Kitchener questionswhether developing customized development agreements to put
checks and balances in place will actually be more expeditious than using existing processes
and template agreements.
Because open-for-business planning by-laws would exempt zoning by-law amendments from
public consultation, there should be some form of mandatory public consultation prior to
establishing such a by-law. Public consultation is a critical component of municipal planning
where the broader public interest is the overarching priority.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
the delivery of core service.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM This
council / committee meeting.
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CONCLUSION:
The City of Kitchener has a long history of innovation and isinterested in effective and efficient
governance. However, the City of Kitchener does not support Bill 66 in its current formfor the
reasons cited in this report.
In 2018 the City of Kitchener launched a development services review. This review aims to
create a made in Kitchener approach to work with the development industry and citizens to
streamline development approvals.Streamlining development approval processes is a key
commitment to improve customer service at-large through red tape reduction. The result will be
a made-in Kitchener approach that addresses the local context, yet expedites the approval of
new major employmentuses.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Justin Readman, General Manager, Development Services
Appendix ASummary of Bill 66
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AppendixA
Summary of Bill 66
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Source: Environmental Registry of Ontario
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