Ontario's Premier Accountability Dashboard · Queen's Park Watch
Richard Lyall
Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON)
Richard Lyall is President of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON), which represents large-volume home builders in the province. Under his leadership, RESCON filed a legal application in Ontario Superior Court in November 2024 challenging the City of Toronto's authority to enforce the Toronto Green Standard. When Bill 98 was introduced in March 2026 — which would legislate RESCON's legal position into provincial law — Lyall called it "hopefully the final chapter in making this absolutely clear that municipalities do not have the right to unilaterally and individually go off and create their own green building standards."
Connected Scandals
Ford's Bill 98 would permanently strip Ontario municipalities of the power to require EV charging, tree canopy, bird-friendly glass, and energy standards from developers — handing a legislative victory to RESCON, the industry lobby already suing Toronto in court over the same rules. Cities have already frozen new green standard programs in anticipation.
As RESCON president, Lyall led both the November 2024 court challenge against the Toronto Green Standard and publicly championed Bill 98 as the legislative culmination of that campaign. His explicit endorsement of the bill as the "final chapter" makes RESCON's role in driving this legislation unambiguous.