I am writing to express my…

I am writing to express my strong opposition to changes to the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) that would undermine protections for significant and at-risk wildlife and habitats and fast-track development at nature’s expense. Specifically, I request the following:

• Remove section 2.5.2.2 which would allow aggregates extraction to trump protections for significant wetlands, woodlands and wildlife (including species at risk) habitat.

• Retain existing requirements for compact development, efficient use of infrastructure and policies to achieve intensification and redevelopment targets (sections 1.1.3.6, 1.1.3.7 a and b, and 1.6.7.2).

Any amendments to the PPS must be evaluated against the urgent need to respond effectively to climate change and biodiversity loss, two of the greatest challenges of our time.

The Government of Ontario wants to weaken protections for nature to fast track development across the province. With the goal of increasing housing supply and reducing barriers and costs for development, the government is amending the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS), Ontario’s primary land use policy.

Proposed changes would allow aggregates extraction to trump existing protections for wetlands, woodlands and wildlife habitat, including habitat for threatened and endangered species. It would also require municipalities to expedite development and abandon many good land use planning practices in response to “market-based needs.”

The proposed new policy for aggregates extraction (section 2.5.2.2) is particularly worrisome.
It would permit pits and quarries in all significant natural features currently protected under the PPS: i.e., provincially significant wetlands (except in southern Ontario), provincially significant woodlands, valleylands and wildlife habitat, significant Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest, fish habitat and the habitat of threatened and endangered species. It would apply across Ontario, except in the Greenbelt.

Ontarians cannot let these proposed changes fly under the radar. Our natural heritage and rural landscapes should not be sacrificed to the interests of aggregates companies.