The Government of Ontario has developed a made-in-Ontario plan for growth, renewal and economic recovery.
This plan includes measures that would make it easier and faster to build provincial highways, major transit infrastructure projects and quality, affordable housing, while ensuring there are meaningful opportunities for community consultation and input.
As part of the government’s plan, the province is proposing to accelerate key provincial highway construction and priority transit projects by establishing an exemption from the Hearing of Necessity process.
Provincial Hearings of Necessity occur approximately 5-10 times per year on average for provincial highway projects.
Each hearing adds months of red tape and construction delays for critical provincial infrastructure, costing up to five months for transit projects and up to 12 months for provincial highway projects.
As part of this plan, the government would also enter into new commercial agreements with partners to build transit-oriented communities. This would allow for the development of more housing around transit in an integrated manner and put more job opportunities within the reach of more people.
The measures would also save taxpayers money by having the development industry make direct, significant contributions to the cost of building transit for the benefit of communities, all transit riders, and Ontario taxpayers.
These measures would allow the province to more quickly undertake important technical investigations and prepare construction sites, while ensuring meaningful consultation with landowners.
DID YOU ALSO KNOW?
- The province is investing $2.6 billion to expand and repair Ontario’s highways and bridges.
- Ontario will continue to collaborate with the City of Toronto and York Region under the historic joint transit partnership agreements and Transit-Oriented Communities Memorandums of Understanding.
Additional Resources
- Learn more about Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19.
- Learn more about COVID-19 Action Plan to Protect Vulnerable Ontarians.
