Building Ontario Businesses Initiative Act Update

Building Ontario Businesses Initiative Act Update

The Ontario government announced on April 1st an update to the Building Ontario Businesses Initiative Act that is intended to increase the amount of public procurement that is allocated to businesses within Ontario. This new regulation will require that all organizations in Ontario’s public sector, including hospitals and schools, must give preference to Ontario business when procuring goods and services including school supplies, medical supplies, and food for cafeterias. This will ensure that the public sector in Ontario continues to help grow businesses within the province and takes advantage of the innovations happening locally. The provincial government is estimating that $3 billion will be awarded to Ontario businesses across the next 3 years. It is encouraging to see more of a focus being placed on procurement within the province; however, this $3 billion represents only a small portion of the $29 billion that the Ontario public sector spends annually on procurement of goods and services.