Work for thousands of construction employees could be created this year in Ontario with a simple regulatory fix by the province, says the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO).

The alliance hopes the upcoming provincial budget will address this issue. “The government is intent on growing the economy and creating jobs. By allowing us to get shovels into the ground more quickly, we can add some 10,000 full time equivalent jobs,” says RCCAO executive director Andy Manahan.

The problem? The current environmental assessment (EA) process is too cumbersome, expensive, and time-consuming. According to a study commissioned by RCCAO, the current EA process delays municipal infrastructure projects by an average of almost 20 months.

The solution? Eliminate the duplication and streamline the EA process for basic infrastructure work. “We’re talking about making the approvals process simpler and faster for projects that are add-ons and improvements,” explains Manahan. Among its recommendations, RCCAO calls for:

· Encouraging greater co-operation between Queen’s Park and Ottawa. Approvals under one set of regulations should obviate the need for further review by the other level of government.

· Eliminating the requirement to undertake further study of alternatives when there has already been full review and public scrutiny through the Planning Act processes, the Places to Grow and Greenbelt legislation, and debate over municipal capital budgets.

· Eliminating ‘bump-up’ requests for formal government review (Part II Order Requests) that are frivolous or vexatious.

· Creating a Municipal Class EA Regulation to fast track basic infrastructure projects in the same manner as the Transit EA has streamlined approvals for transit projects.