Dear Premier Ford, As a…

Dear Premier Ford,

As a resident of this province, I want to express my strong opposition to this proposed change. The province should let the city/municipalities conduct their affairs without interference.

Planning processes exist for a reason. This proposal is yet another action by your government that undermines the integrity and quality of local planning, which was already hampered by Bill 108 which was pushed through in 2019, despite significant opposition.

Your government appears to continue to make it more difficult for municipalities to defend against unbridled development (particularly condo), often without the necessary infrastructure in place (transit as an example) to support it.

Developers often already get most of what they want by taking the city to the Land Tribunal (though a different name, it still appears to create outcomes similar to the old OMB). There is no need to make it potentially even easier for them by creating an opportunity to seek Ministerial override, which this proposal would allow to occur without public consultation.

That is not to say that changing the proposal to allow consultation is what is needed. I raise the point to flag the lack of transparency and apparent disregard for any community affected where such Ministerial override may be invoked. The point is that planning should be left to professional planners who are aware of the details of, and impact on, the affected community.

These kinds of actions by your government, including having interfered with the size of Toronto City Council, will definitely be kept in mind at election time.

Signed
A concerned and disappointed citizen.