On Thursday, October 7^th, Nina Tangri, Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction, announced Ontario’s Fall Red Tape Reduction Package and introduced the Supporting People and Business Act.

The Bill contains several proposed changes to existing legislation and several regulatory proposals of interest to municipalities, including allowing municipalities to enter into special conditional long-term loan agreements with the Canada Infrastructure Bank, moving towards a new system for transfer payment recipients who receive funding through agreements to provide services and goods to the public, implementing digital productivity tools,  providing free police records checks to volunteers, making it easier for restaurants and bars to extend patios, and developing a pilot program for non-electric and electric-assist large cycles.

Some of the regulatory registry postings that may be of interest to municipalities are:

New Regulation Making Authority under the Liquor Licence and Control Act, 2019
Consultation Timeline: October 7, 2021 – November 21, 2021
Ministry: Attorney General
The proposed amendments would add a new regulation making authority to allow liquor licensed establishments to extend their outdoor licensed premises, subject to the approval of their municipal government without approval from the AGCO.

Supporting Volunteers Under the Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015
Consultation Timeline: October 7, 2021 – November 21, 2021
Ministry: Solicitor General
The proposed amendments would reduce barriers for volunteers when obtaining certain types of police records checks. Additionally, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has proposed to file consequential regulatory amendments to the fee and charges regulations under the Municipal Act, 2001 and City of Toronto Act, 2006 (see below).

Consequential amendments to regulations under the Municipal Act (O. Reg 584/06) and City of Toronto Act (O. Reg 595/06) in support of the Ministry of the Solicitor General's proposed initiative to provide free police record checks to volunteers
Consultation Timeline: October 7, 2021 – November 21, 2021
Ministry: Municipal Affairs and Housing
The proposed amendments would remove municipal and local board powers to charge fees for the services that the proposed amendments to the Police Records Check Reform Act will make free of charge.

Proposed Additional Delegation of Planning Decisions
Consultation Timeline: October 7, 2021 – November 21, 2021
Ministry: Municipal Affairs and Housing
The proposed amendments would make changes to the Planning Act to expand the matters that the council of a local municipality may delegate, including planning decisions that deal with minor amendments to zoning by-laws, subject to criteria established through official plan policies.

Proposed legislative amendments to the Cannabis Licence Act, 2018 (CLA), Cannabis Control Act, 2017 (CCA) and the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation Act, 2017 (OCRCA)
Consultation Timeline: October 7, 2021 – November 21, 2021
Ministry: Attorney General
The proposed amendments would enable authorized cannabis retailers to provide curbside pick-up and delivery services on a permanent basis.

Proposal for Amendments to R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 565: Public Pools
Consultation Timeline: October 7, 2021 - November 22, 2022
Ministry: Health
The proposed amendments would make an attendant optional at certain public wading pools with water depths of 15 cm or less with prior notification to the public health unit and the provision of signage and a safety plan and set water chemistry levels in line with current scientific evidence.