The president of the Treasury Board of Ontario met with eight business leaders Friday to speak about the new government’s plans to review Bill 148 and cut red tape.
“We’ve initiated the line-by-line review, the EY (Ernst & Young) report, and we’re in the process of modernizing and transforming government,” said MPP Peter Bethlanfalvy, who was appointed by Premier Doug Ford to lead the treasury board.
“We did an online survey. We got 26,000 ideas and now we want to turn it from a consultation to a conversation to get good ideas on how to modernize and transform government.”
Bethlanfalvy spoke to the group about a review of Bill 148 – which updated workplace laws – currently being conducted by the new Progressive Conservative government.
The bill included raising the minimum wage to $14 an hour from $11.40 at the start of this year and to $15 in January, but the new government halted the second raise.
“We heard from many people that no one is against a living wage, and that’s important in society, but one of the concerns that we’ve heard over and over again is the pace of that change – 20 per cent in one year and there was going to be another 12 per cent this year,” said Bethlanfalvy.
Bill 148 included other provisions, such as providing all employees with 10 emergency days per year, two of which are paid, and requiring employers to pay part-time employees the same wages as full-time employees for doing the same work.
These other parts of the bill are currently under review, but Bethlanfalvy said he couldn’t provide specific details on changes being considered.
Cecily Coppola, chair of the Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce, said the bill “was kind of rushed through” and some parts should be reviewed.
“There are a lot of elements of it that are really great and I strongly support giving people a fair wage for hard work,” said Coppola, who is also the executive director of Restorative Justice Chatham-Kent.
“There are some aspects of the Bill 148 that are starting to cripple businesses – small and large alike – and coming from a not-for-profit sector, our sector as well.”
Calling Ontario the “red tape capital of North America,” Bethlanfalvy also discussed the government’s plans to see which regulations on businesses can be removed or adjusted.
“We’re hearing over and over again that Canadians want to do good work, but we’re making it really tough by layers of red tape, not just at the provincial level, but also municipally and federally,” said the MPP for Pickering-Uxbridge.
He said there are over 380,000 regulations that the provincial government is reviewing.
“Safety and standards have to be met, absolutely. That’s paramount. But from beyond that, does every regulation make sense?”
Coppola said she often hears from businesses of all sizes about processes which are holding them back from growing.
“Definitely, safety and all of that is a priority, but I think there are some things, like he mentioned, just some archaic pieces of policy that were developed years ago and don’t apply anymore in today’s age,” she said.
Bethlanfalvy also discussed efforts to reduce hydro prices and a recent report which found the province has a $15-billion deficit.
“It’s a wake-up call and we have to start by looking at efficiencies and ways to do things smarter so the taxpayers get some relief and that’s what we’re working on right now,” he said.
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