Lyall: Fixing Ontario’s fragmented approvals system, one platform at a time

Ontario’s housing crisis is no longer defined solely by supply targets or affordability metrics. It is increasingly defined by something far less visible but just as consequential: time.

For years, governments at all levels have poured billions of dollars into housing acceleration programs, permitting modernization initiatives and municipal technology upgrades. The theory was sound. Faster approvals would unlock new housing supply, reduce costs and bring predictability to a sector struggling under mounting pressure.

Yet the results tell a different story.

A fragmented system

Despite these investments, approval timelines have barely improved. Projects continue to face lengthy, unpredictable review processes. Applications move from one desk to another, often across multiple systems, agencies and jurisdictions. Builders, municipalities and applicants alike remain caught in a web of inefficiencies that delay housing delivery when it is needed most.

The problem is not money. It is structure.

Ontario’s approvals ecosystem is highly fragmented. Today, hundreds of disconnected permitting environments operate across the province, each with its own processes, requirements and data systems.

Municipalities adopt technology independently. Agencies maintain separate review frameworks. Applicants are required to navigate a patchwork of platforms and expectations, often repeating the same work multiple times.

However, without shared infrastructure — common standards, integrated systems and co-ordinated workflows — even well-funded modernization efforts struggle to deliver meaningful change. Technology layered onto fragmentation does not create efficiency. It simply digitizes complexity.

A coalition for a unified platform

That reality is driving a new approach.

RESCON has joined a coalition led by One Ontario — a non-profit organization dedicated to modernizing real estate development and permitting processes across the province — that is working toward a unified, province-wide AI-enabled platform to modernize development approvals.

The platform would take users from idea to permit within a single system. AI agents would identify a user’s requirements, automatically fill in their applications and check compliance up front. The agent would then submit to approval agencies and track progress of the file.

Instead of navigating multiple systems, applicants would interact with a single digital dashboard that identifies requirements, prepares submissions, co-ordinates reviews and tracks projects through to decision.

By standardizing zoning, planning and property data, reducing duplicate work and minimizing back-and-forth between agencies, the platform aims to deliver what years of investment have not: speed, clarity and predictability.

The long-term vision is a single, province-wide permitting dashboard.

Why RESCON is involved

The initiative makes sense for RESCON, as we represent builders responsible for constructing more than 70 per cent of Ontario’s new homes and who are most directly impacted by permitting delays and approval bottlenecks.

For builders, delays are not abstract policy concerns. They result in real-world costs — added financing expenses, extended project timelines and increased uncertainty that ultimately flows through to homebuyers and renters.

As a development partner, RESCON will provide strategic guidance, industry insight and government relations expertise to help shape how the platform is built, scaled and implemented. We want to make sure that the system is not designed in isolation, but reflects the practical challenges faced every day on the ground.

The coalition itself is deliberately structured to bring together complementary expertise. Technology and platform development are led by partners providing end-to-end AI and data infrastructure. Regulatory intelligence is contributed by organizations focused on ensuring compliance, transparency and alignment with existing rules. Industry leadership — anchored by RESCON — ensures that housing delivery outcomes remain central to the effort.

Turning ideas into action

Together, these partners will form a co-ordinated approach to permitting modernization — one that integrates technology, policy and real-world application.

Ontario does not lack reports, recommendations or policy frameworks. What it lacks is a shared system that turns those ideas into consistent, scalable outcomes.

The initiative would represent a fundamental shift in how housing projects move from concept to construction. Delays in the approvals process remain one of the most significant barriers to increasing supply.

We cannot wait for the system to change. The stakes are too high. We must work to build the infrastructure to make change possible.

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