Bill 69 explained in plain English

Bill 69 amends Ontario infrastructure-related statutes to allow the Minister to waive environmental assessment waiting periods and to prevent prescribed entities from holding real property interests without Crown control.

Bill 69 makes changes to several Ontario laws that deal with infrastructure. The bill has two main parts. First, it changes the Environmental Assessment Act. Normally, projects must wait a certain number of days after a public comment period ends before they can proceed. The bill allows the Minister of Infrastructure to issue an order that removes this waiting requirement for a specific project, but only after the comment period has ended. The bill also repeals some outdated rules from 2020. Second, the bill adds new rules to the Ministry of Infrastructure Act, 2011. It creates a power for the Minister to prescribe (name) certain organizations or entities that will no longer be allowed to own or control land, buildings, structures, or interests in them. When a regulation naming an entity comes into force, any property that entity already owned is automatically transferred to the Crown (the government) and placed under the Minister's control. The regulations can allow exceptions and may be applied retroactively. The bill also updates several related statutes (including laws governing AgriCorp, the Arts Council, skills trades organizations, the Ontario Financing Authority, education oversight, financial regulators, fire safety, human rights, and securities regulation) to make clear they are subject to these new property restrictions. The bill received Royal Assent on May 18, 2023, and most of it came into force immediately. Schedule 2 comes into force on a date to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.