On May 2, 2019, the Government of Ontario introduced Bill 108,
the More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019. Bill 108 amends
several environmental statutes, including the Environmental
Assessment Act (the Act).
The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (the
Ministry) previously published a discussion paper to guide public
consultation as part of a proposed effort to modernize
Ontario's environmental assessment program. The
discussion paper is available for comment until May 25,
2019.
In the meantime, Bill 108 introduces several short-term changes
that are proposed while the broader environmental assessment
program is considered by the Minister. The focus of the changes
proposed as part of Bill 108 is to reduce the regulatory burden on
low-risk projects.
