Toronto City Hall playing catch-up - as the strike continues

City set to start issuing building permits again

Applications made before strike started June 22 will be processed, but inspections won't resume

Hundreds of building permits sitting in the pipeline will be issued as the City of Toronto seeks to restore services crippled by the four-week strike.

Enough workers have returned to the job to allow building officials to resume their regular duties of issuing permits, Mayor David Miller announced yesterday.

Some 550 workers have returned to work while 30,000 remain on strike, officials said during a city hall briefing yesterday. Another 730 have applied to return to work.

"We could issue as many as 500 building permits by the end of the month," Miller said.
The city is not processing new applications, only those that were submitted before the strike began June 22.

There will be no city inspectors to review work in progress, but the use of private inspectors can ensure that projects can go forward.

"People can hire perhaps professional engineers, architects, qualified designers or any other people that have some knowledge in the field that can provide us with documentation at the end," said deputy chief building official Jim Laughlin.
The move is helpful, but the continued loss of city inspections is a drawback, said John Aquino, vice-president of Bondfield Construction. The company needs inspections at its $55 million housing development on Edward St.

"At least we can get the permit issued but mechanical work underground has to be inspected," Aquino said. "You can hire an engineer to review and take pictures and everything but it's best that the city inspector reviews it."

Anything the city can do to help construction proceed is helpful, particularly in this key summer season, said Stephen Dupuis, president and CEO of the Building Industry and Land Development Association.

Miller's announcement was dismissed as too little, too late by his opponents on city council.
"Why has he waited four weeks to deal with that?" said Councillor Case Ootes.