Bill 171 explained in plain English
Building Transit Faster Act, 2020
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
The Building Transit Faster Act, 2020, aims to expedite the planning and construction of four priority transit projects in the Greater Toronto Area by streamlining development controls, expropriation, and utility and municipal access, while also introducing administrative penalties and offences for non-compliance.
The Building Transit Faster Act, 2020, aims to speed up the planning and construction of four major transit projects in the Greater Toronto Area: the Ontario Line, the Scarborough Subway Extension, the Yonge Subway Extension, and the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension. It introduces measures for development control along transit corridors, allowing for permits for new construction and the removal of obstructions or immediate dangers to construction. It also allows for "preview inspections" of properties for due diligence in planning and construction. The Act streamlines expropriation processes by removing the need for hearings of necessity for properties related to these transit projects. It establishes a process for requiring utility companies to relocate their infrastructure if needed for the projects and for obtaining municipal service and right-of-way access. The Act grants the Minister of Transportation powers to delegate functions, issue directives, and enforce compliance through tools like stop-work orders, administrative penalties, and offences. Amendments to other acts include changes to the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998, to prevent certain costs related to these transit projects from being included in gas or electricity rates, and updates to terminology in the Public Service Works on Highways Act.
- Establishes a framework for controlling development near designated transit corridor lands, requiring permits for certain construction and activities.
- Allows for the removal of obstructions or things that pose an immediate danger to transit construction projects.
- Permits "preview inspections" of private properties for due diligence in planning and constructing transit projects.
- Streamlines the expropriation process for land needed for priority transit projects by removing the requirement for hearings of necessity.
- Provides a mechanism to require utility companies to move their infrastructure for transit projects.
- Establishes a process for acquiring municipal service and right-of-way access for transit projects.
- Grants the Minister of Transportation the authority to delegate powers, issue directives, and enforce the Act.
- Introduces administrative penalties for contravening provisions of the Act and regulations.
- Establishes offences and penalties for non-compliance with the Act's requirements.
- Amends the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998, to limit the inclusion of certain transit project-related costs in utility rates.
- Updates terminology and provisions within the Public Service Works on Highways Act.
- The Minister of Transportation
- Metrolinx
- Utility companies (e.g., those operating communications, water, sewage, gas, electricity, or oil services)
- Municipalities
- Owners of property located on or near designated transit corridor land
- Proponents of construction projects near transit corridor land
- The public using transit services and public rights-of-way
- Property owners may have a right to compensation for damages or property alterations resulting from transit project work.
- Utility companies have an obligation to cooperate with Metrolinx to relocate utility infrastructure.
- Municipalities have an obligation to provide necessary service and right-of-way access for transit projects, potentially under an order.
- Persons undertaking work near transit corridor land may be obligated to obtain a permit.
- Persons must not hinder or obstruct authorized inspections, removals, or construction activities.
- The Act came into force on the day it received Royal Assent (July 8, 2020).
- Costs associated with utility company cooperation for transit projects may not be included in gas or electricity rates approved by the Ontario Energy Board, unless regulations permit.
- The Minister may compensate property owners for damages resulting from certain actions authorized by the Act.
- Administrative penalties can be imposed, with a maximum of $500,000 or a lesser prescribed amount, or the maximum fine for an equivalent offence.
- Penalties for offences range from fines for individuals ($50,000 for first offence, $100,000 for subsequent) and corporations ($500,000 for first, $1,000,000 for subsequent), with additional daily fines.
- Stop-work orders can be issued for contraventions.
- Court orders can be sought to compel utility companies or municipalities to comply with requirements.
- Administrative penalties up to $500,000 can be imposed.
- Offences are established for contravening development controls, obstructing activities, or failing to comply with stop-work orders.
- Penalties for offences include significant fines for individuals and corporations, with daily penalties for continued non-compliance.
- Warrants can be obtained to allow entry for inspections or removals if access is prevented.
- The specific details of what constitutes "prescribed work" requiring a permit, or "prescribed things" for obstruction removal or construction danger inspection, are not defined in the Act and would be specified in regulations.
- The Act refers to "prescribed public bodies" to whom the Minister's functions may be delegated, but these bodies are not named and would be identified in regulations.
- The exact amounts or methods for calculating administrative penalties, or specific time periods for reviews or payments, are not fully detailed and are subject to regulations.
- The application of compensation and restoration provisions may differ for municipalities or local boards.
- The specific "transit corridors" are not fully defined within the Act itself, but are identified as being for the four priority transit projects.
Establishes new rules and procedures for planning and constructing specific priority transit projects.
Source: Chapter 12 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2020
Changes how utility rates are approved by preventing certain costs related to the Building Transit Faster Act, 2020, from being included, unless permitted by regulation.
Source: Section 85
Updates terminology and some provisions related to utility infrastructure on highways to align with the Building Transit Faster Act, 2020.
Source: Section 86
Removes the requirement for hearings of necessity for expropriations related to the specified priority transit projects.
Source: Section 44
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.
No published representative vote breakdown
The current official sources do not publish a recorded division breakdown for this bill, so there is no representative-by-representative table to show.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced