The Growth Plan for the…

The Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe has been amended several times since its introduction in 2006, pursuant to the Places to Grow Act of the previous year.

This important planning tool drew its objectives from the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) which had been introduced by the Progressive Conservative government in 1996.

Successive amendments involved lengthy consultations with stakeholders and other interested parties, during which the public generally expressed support for the Growth Plan's policies of protecting natural heritage lands, agricultural lands and water resources whereas developers mainly argued for fewer restrictions and delays in the approval process.

Proposed Amendment 1

When considering amendments to the updated 2017 Growth Plan, it is important to review the scorecard of the Growth Plan to date.

The much-praised 2006 Growth Plan provided a clear roadmap for protecting farms for current and future Ontarians and for mitigating the effects of urban sprawl. Clauses in some of the later amendments, however, opened up alternate avenues, which were subsequently exploited to circumvent the main goals of the Plan.

Lobbying by influential developers has been very effective. In 2012, for example, the Minister approved two Strategic Settlement Employment Areas between Bradford and Barrie, two Economic Employment Districts in Oro-Medonte and a "Special Rule" for Midhurst to permit a 10,000 unit residential development on 746 hectares of Simcoe's - indeed Ontario’s - best farmland.

These and other approvals have caused the conversion of many thousands of hectares of fertile farmland to land for urban uses. This enormous loss of vital food-producing land occurred despite these well-known facts:

southern Ontario contains 50% of the best farmland in all of Canada
government-sponsored studies had already determined there is more than enough land already approved for development to accommodate provincial growth targets beyond 2031.

More than a dozen years later, new infrastructure is STILL being added for proposed development in low population rural areas - Midhurst, for example - while existing infrastructure, even in designated primary settlement areas - Midland, for example - remains under-utilized and a burden to local taxpayers.

If the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe is to achieve the basic objectives for which it received international acclaim, we respectfully submit that the priority needs to be enforcing regulations rather than making amendments. In so doing, and coupled with reducing administrative red tape, development and Ontario’s bounteous natural resources - farmland, water resources, forests and green spaces - can be balanced for the greater good of all Ontarians.

Thank you for extending an invitation to participate in the consultation process.