Focus has been on cutting DCs and modernizing approvals system

By Grant Cameron

July 6, 2026

Cutting development charges, boosting apprenticeships and modernizing development approvals through a province-wide AI-enabled permitting platform were the big picture items this past month for RESCON.

A report prepared for RESCON highlighted the need for a new approach to help boost apprenticeship completion rates. We distributed a press release on the report.

The report suggested that Canada should look to behavioural science to significantly boost apprenticeship recruitment and completion rates in the skilled construction trades.

Behavioural science is the study of cognitive constraints, social pressures, and behavioural barriers that shape human decision-making.

According to the report authors, Canada’s apprenticeship framework is built on a set of traditional economic assumptions: give people the right information, reduce the cost of participation, and they will behave rationally and follow through. Yet the evidence tells a different story.

A behavioural approach would focus on reducing friction at every stage of the apprenticeship journey by making pathways clearer and easier to navigate. It would ensure that financial supports are not only available but accessible at the moments when they matter most, and provide structured mentorship and exam preparation support.

Articles on the report ran in Canadian HR Reporter and Timmins Daily Press.

In a column in Canadian Contractor, we explained why Canada is losing skilled workers and what it will take to get more youth into the system and complete their training. Meanwhile, in a column in On-Site magazine we laid out why the apprenticeship pipeline is broken and how looking to initiatives in countries like Switzerland, Germany and Austria could help Canada.

Development approvals

In June, RESCON joined a One Ontario coalition that is planning to modernize the development approvals process through a province-wide AI-enabled permitting platform.

A press release was distributed on the announcement.

Cumbersome planning approvals and restrictive regulatory policies have been identified as major barriers to delivering the homes Ontario needs. A province-wide permitting platform built on standardized processes and shared data can help remove the friction that slows housing delivery.

The coalition would like to see a single permitting dashboard that manages the approvals process from start to finish. The platform would identify requirements, prepare and submit applications, co-ordinate reviews, and track progress through to decision. Rather than navigating multiple systems and agencies, applicants would have one clear, centralized path through approvals.

Development charges

In a column in Daily Commercial News, we welcomed the the decision by the federal and Ontario governments to move forward with the new Development Charge Reduction Program (DCRP), as it is one of the most significant housing affordability measures introduced in years and will help remove a major barrier to new home construction across the province.

For years, development charges have climbed relentlessly, making housing less affordable, slowing construction activity and undermining the financial viability of projects that communities desperately need.

In a column in Real Estate Magazine Canada, meanwhile, we explained how development charges are out of control, increasing by more than 1,000 per cent in Toronto since 2009.

Skilled trades shortage

A column on the skilled trades shortage facing the forestry, wood products and engineered wood manufacturing industries ran in Canadian Forest Industries. The piece recommended a number of ways to fix the system.

Policy changes

In a column in Storeys, we highlighted how five policy changes could actually fix Ontario’s housing market and in a piece in Senso magazine we suggested changes to policies that are affecting the residential construction industry.

Land scarcity issue

A column in The Toronto Sun explained that Ontario doesn’t have a land scarcity problem. Rather, it has a serviced, approved and buildable land problem - one largely created by decades of public policy choices that have made it increasingly difficult, expensive and time-consuming to transform land into housing.