Part 4: Making Ontario Work Smarter for Business

“Ontario is a role model in reducing the regulatory burden on businesses. I am impressed by the government’s leadership in making regulation more agile by applying a small business lens and taking a lighter touch to enforcing regulations. We need to take this approach across Canada.” Dominic Barton, Global Managing Partner Emeritus at management consultancy McKinsey & Company.

When we were elected, we made a commitment to the people of Ontario: to create good jobs and send the message that the province is open for business once again.

That’s why we’re working hard to make sure job creators aren’t weighed down by over-regulation that stifles investment and opportunity.

This is an important part of our plan to improve Ontario’s business investment climate, so we can compete on the global stage. Ontario companies need an efficient, workable regulatory framework.

What we’ve done

Numbers at a Glance (June 2018 to 2019)

  • About $126 million in net savings to business by cutting red tape
  • $160 million in reduced fees, charges and levies to business
  • $52 million in expected reduced costs from the Better for People, Smarter for Business Act, 2019, and from regulatory and policy changes
  • To date: About $338 million in reduced costs to business since June 2018
  • Target: $400 million in reduced costs to business by June 2020
  • Since June 2018, employment in Ontario has risen by 272,400

Our government has introduced more than 100 concrete changes to make it easier for businesses to create jobs and connect with hardworking Ontarians ready to fill them. These actions have reduced business costs, harmonized regulatory requirements with other provinces and American states, ended duplication and successfully reduced barriers to investment.

Pausing the minimum wage hike

By pausing an increase in the minimum wage, we gave small businesses a chance to reassess their resources and their labour costs. This will help secure Ontario’s competitive edge, spur overall investment and economic expansion and create more employment opportunities.

Focusing on the skilled trades and apprenticeship

We know that one of the biggest concerns of business is access to qualified, trained talent, particularly in the skilled trades. That’s why we moved quickly to adjust apprentice to journeyperson ratios to one-to-one, allowing more people to enter the workforce as highly skilled and much-needed specialized tradespeople. We have also appointed special advisors to advise the government on modernizing its skilled trades and apprenticeship system to give workers in the skilled trades greater opportunities for success.

Property tax review

A well-functioning property tax system is critical to supporting local services and public education while also ensuring that Ontario remains competitive. As announced in the 2019 Budget, the government is conducting a review of the property tax system and seeking input on measures to enhance the accuracy and stability of property assessments as well as promote business competitiveness through improvements to Ontario’s property tax system.

Stuffed with savings

We removed all Ontario-specific licensing and regulatory requirements for upholstered and stuffed articles in favour of federal regulations — for everything from sleeping bags and furniture to teddy bears. This reduces a long-standing burden on business and eliminates costly trade barriers. Industry sources estimate this change could save businesses $20 million annually.

What we’re doing: Better for People, Smarter for Business Act, 2019

Today, we’re building on our success and addressing areas that matter most to businesses for improving the investment climate here in Ontario. We are ending duplication and wasted time and money in our transportation, waste management, agrifood, and manufacturing industries, while creating certainty in our resource sectors and reducing burdens across the board.

Creating a one-stop shop for annual transport truck safety and emissions

Each year, Ontario trucks must complete multiple inspections to ensure that they are meeting Ontario’s high environmental standards and safety requirements. These inspections are important, so we are creating a one-stop approach — one place, one test, one result — for trucking companies to complete annual safety inspection and emissions testing.

The new, enhanced program for heavy-duty vehicle emissions tests will be combined with Ontario’s existing commercial motor vehicle safety inspection program in 2021.

Completing both tests at the same time will save truckers time and money so they can focus on keeping goods moving across Ontario, while maintaining the necessary protections for our environment and safety.

Providing certainty in the mining industry by setting government service standard timelines

Our mining sector contributes billions of dollars to Ontario’s economy and provides tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs. Uncertainty and open-ended timelines have been making it harder for Ontario mining operations to compete on the global stage.

That’s why we’re working to ensure business certainty in the mining industry to attract new global investment, expand the industry and create new jobs.

Our legislative changes would require the Director of Mine Rehabilitation to make a decision to file or return a Closure Plan Amendment within 45 days after submission, ensuring government fulfills its responsibilities in a timely manner.

Streamlining approvals in the forestry industry

Ontario’s forest industry generates over $16 billion in revenue and supports approximately 155,000 direct and indirect jobs across the province. Ontario is also recognized as an innovator and sustainable forestry leader in this global industry.

As it stands today, all forestry work schedules must be approved, even though they are consistent with the approved forest management plan. This causes unnecessary delays, and in some cases forces the industry to halt operations until they’ve received the green light for planned operations that haven’t changed from the approved forest management plan.

That’s why our government is committed to supporting the sector, and the tens of thousands of jobs this renewable resource provides, by streamlining the approvals process for forest operations.

Modernizing rules for barbers and hairdressers

Today in Ontario, businesses offering personal services to Ontarians are required to have a dedicated sink for cleaning their tools and to keep a record of the name and contact information of all their customers. This makes sense for tattoo artists and tanning salons.

But to barbers and hairdressers, this represents a burden with no benefit. That’s why we’re making changes that would make it easier for our community barbers and hairdressers to do business and reduce the need for the people of Ontario to share their personal contact information for something as routine as a haircut.

Reducing burden on local pharmacists by digitizing drug reports

Ontario community pharmacists are required to manually fill out paperwork for some prescriptions that were never picked up by patients. Digitizing this paperwork will save time and money and allow pharmacists to focus on service and care.

Starting with the end goal in mind

We’ve been listening to the people of Ontario — from families to community organizations to job-creating businesses. We’re taking in the common sense concerns they are raising and applying them in our mission of reducing Ontario’s red tape burden.

Our regulatory vision is one in which people are better served by local and provincial government; businesses are unshackled to do what they do best — create jobs; and municipalities are focused on building and investing in their communities and delivering efficient, effective services to Ontario families.

Creating a regulatory system that works better for people and smarter for business is an important part of our plan to build Ontario together.