Michael de Lint / RESCON 

The previous government’s “Development Approval Roundtable Action Plan” released in November 2017 included recommendation No. 13, calling for a close look at expanding “e-permitting” for municipal and provincial land use and development approvals. Bill 154, the “Cutting Unnecessary Red Tape Act,” passed in November 2017, gave businesses submitting documents to a government ministry the option to submit that information digitally....  Read more...

Richard Lyall / RESCON

Sometimes, as an executive, you meet people and you think, “this person is the right fit for my organization.”

RCCAO executive director Andy Manahan and I shared one of those moments when we interviewed Nadia Todorova....  Read more...

Michael de Lint / RESCON

Big plans for Toronto’s waterfront

Manhattan-based Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, was selected by Toronto Waterfront to be its partner in developing a sensor-laden, pedestrian and transit-oriented “Smart City” district called Quayside, a 12-acre portion of Toronto’s 800-acre eastern waterfront (or Port Lands). Toronto Waterfront, a non-profit corporation, has a mission to revitalize the area bordering Queens Quay East, near Parliament Street. Quayside’s Terms of Reference call for world-class digital infrastructure supporting data-informed decision-making. So far, Sidewalk Labs, itself is not a builder, has invested US$50 million which is funding a series of public consultations. ...  Read more...

RESCON’s two major training and education projects which are aimed at addressing the current and worsening shortage of skilled trades workers in the residential construction sector in the GTA hit major milestones this summer. They now depend on the involvement of members and sub-trade employers. ...  Read more...

It’s been a busy summer for RESCON, especially when it comes to the topic of NAFTA, U.S. tariffs and Canadian steel. ...  Read more...

Everything flows towards Toronto’s lakeshore.

With three primary rivers flowing from north to south (Humber, Don and Rouge), plus four Toronto plants treating waste water, the end point for the city’s storm and sanitary sewer discharge culminates at the shores of Lake Ontario. Add heavy rainfall into the mix and this creates an infrastructure burden for storm, sanitary and combined sewer capacity. Toronto’s topographical and hydrogeological conditions exacerbate the problem.

And then you have days like Tuesday, Aug. 7, when extreme rainfall battered the city. Basements were flooded, especially in homes without backflow preventers, and the resulting photos are what we see here – some unlucky underground parking garages became cesspools, followed by revolting scenes of raw sewage floating in Lake Ontario. ...  Read more...

On June 12, Doug Ford’s newly elected PC government made its first throne speech which outlined a broad plan for Ontario and its future.

Election promises regarding respect for taxpayers were expanded upon, as the government emphasized its campaign slogan “for the people.” The throne speech set the wheels of policy in motion, and the Ford government has been moving quickly ever since. ...  Read more...

Among health and safety professionals, impairment always has been the top concern for construction sites across Canada, and that has come into sharp focus in the lead-up to the legalization of recreational cannabis.

That’s why we have held two Cannabis in Construction symposiums with strong attendance each time as the construction industry tries to prepare for life after Oct. 17 when recreational cannabis becomes legal....  Read more...

 

Andrew Pariser and Amina Dibe / RESCON

Earlier this year, RESCON and the Ontario Residential Council of Construction Associations (ORCCA) applied and received two grants to address labour supply issues in the residential sector. ...  Read more...

Michael de Lint / RESCON

RESCON’s latest report focuses on one factor contributing to the supply shortage: the development approvals process is too slow. ...  Read more...