Solving the budget woes at Toronto City Hall and the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has never been easier. There’s no need for higher property taxes, program or service cuts. No need to put the squeeze on taxpayers, students and parents. The city and the TDSB can solve their multi-million dollar budget shortfalls, just like that. How, you’re wondering? The answer: By doing absolutely nothing.

Imagine solving a huge problem by not moving a finger. Not picking up the phone. Not arranging more special meetings. This is precisely the way elected officials at the City of Toronto and the TDSB can meet their current budget challenges. It’s a solution no one seems to be talking about. But they should. Here’s just how straightforward it really is.

In April, the Ontario government passed Bill-66, “Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act.” The bill ends construction monopolies in several parts of Ontario, including for the City of Toronto and the TDSB, where construction work has been awarded to the same companies for decades, all because they are affiliated with certain labour groups. Those days are gone. Bill-66 opens up competition. All qualified companies and skilled workers now get a shot at building municipal and TDSB construction projects. The best part is that when there are more bidders for projects, costs come down.

But despite the clear benefits of opening up construction competition, there’s a chance it might not happen. That’s because there’s a wrinkle in the legislation — a 90-day “opt-out” clause. The City of Toronto and the TDSB are under intense pressure from the Building Trades Unions to opt out of Bill 66’s provisions and keep things as they’ve been for decades. In other words, keep shutting out the vast majority of construction companies and their workers by opting out of Bill-66 by the July 3rd deadline.

If they do opt out, the result will be more of the same. Toronto taxpayers are all too familiar with the TDSB paying hugely inflated prices for work at public schools carried out by tradespeople with an exclusive contract: the bill for installing an electrical outlet in a school library for $3,000 or the $143 bill to install a $17 pencil sharpener. In Toronto, the high cost of infrastructure projects struck a public chord in 2017 when city staff provided an exorbitant quote of $150,000 to build a small staircase in a public park. The mayor intervened and had the steps built at a cost that he said was just $10,000.

Imagine if both the city and the TDSB could provide the public with improved value on every infrastructure project. There would be plenty of funding left over for new splash pads, hockey arenas and programs. No one would be talking, as we are now, about a second property tax hit or school-service cuts.

Global research confirms the benefits of construction competition time and again. It’s widely accepted that the savings range from 15 to 30 per cent. Apply that to $1.6-billion worth of public construction work in Toronto, and the city could save anywhere from $240 million to $400 million annually by embracing an open construction market. This easily wipes out its funding shortfall. The TDSB could save between $26 million and $53 million each year by doing the same. That goes a long way in covering its $67.8-million budget challenge. In order to realize these savings, the city and TDSB simply need to do nothing. In other words, let the 90-day clock run out since the proclamation of Bill-66. By not opting out of the legislation, the city and TDSB, by even the lowest estimates, could easily save taxpayers well over $1 billion over the next five years.

Those select labour groups that have long benefited from monopolizing city and TDSB public construction work are working hard to convince public officials that there’s some benefit to paying excessive construction costs. There absolutely is not. The suggestion that specific contractors and unions must be used to guarantee safe work is absurd given the rigorous pre-qualification process for all TDSB and city contractors. It’s also worth noting that Toronto’s Fair Wage Policy will continue to apply and TDSB workers will have every right to continue to be part of a union. The reality is that there is no good reason to keep stifling competition and clinging to the status quo.

Our member companies at the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada (PCA) employ thousands of unionized workers. They live and pay taxes in the City of Toronto, yet they haven’t been allowed to build community centres or repair public schools. Bill-66 changes that. That’s worth celebrating, not unravelling.

The City of Toronto and Toronto District School Board have just been handed a golden opportunity to save millions of dollars. Providing taxpayers, parents and students with better value on construction and repair work frees up funding for programs and services that really matter. It’s the solution that the city and TDSB should be focused on, not tax hikes and service cuts that really aren’t necessary.

Sean Reid is vice president and regional director for Ontario of the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada (PCA).