This ERO prevents…

This ERO prevents municipalities from having GDS that impact anything outside of the building envelope, like bicycle parking and native tree planting. Municipalities have enacted GDS based on their own local geography and priorities, which is essential to making sure they're effective within the specific community they're being implemented in. You cannot standardize the GDS for every municipality -- it's akin to thinking that every city in Ontario is the same, and I'm sure I don't need to be the first person to tell you that they are not.

GDS are important for disaster prevention, safe communities, and stormwater management. If they are standardized, disasters could have unnecessary consequences, which could have been prevented if GDS were implemented based on the specific municipality's needs in the first place. If we’re taking our emissions targets seriously, we know that every building built to the Ontario Building Code requirement will need to be retrofitted within 10 – 20 years at a much higher cost and lower result than if they had been built with energy efficiency as a goal.

GDS are essential for healthy and livable communities. Not only are you supporting the most powerful action cities can take to combat climate change, but a strong GDS can lead to significant savings on energy bills over time. Every level of government has a role to play in fighting climate change -- don't take this power away from our cities.