I am deeply concerned about…

I am deeply concerned about the loss of conservation authority powers resulting from this bill. I don’t believe any conservation lands should ever be sold for development, they are needed as habitat and for flood prevention. Therefore no new process for selling off Conservation Lands is needed.

I strongly oppose this Bill for many reasons, including:

1. Removal of my right to appeal on planning matters that affect my community;

2. Limitations on the power of conservation authorities (CAs) to regulate or prohibit development that negatively impacts wetlands, rivers or streams, to provide expert review of planning applications, and to appeal planning decisions;

3. Removal of the role of seven regional municipalities (Simcoe, Durham, Halton, Peel, Niagara, Waterloo and York) in planning matters, thereby eliminating coordinated efforts to protect farmland and natural areas, determine optimal locations for development and infrastructure, and efficiently deliver municipal services;

4. Drastic amendments to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System, ensuring that very few wetlands in Ontario will be deemed provincially significant and protected from development;

5. Replacement of the Provincial Policy Statement with a new policy instrument geared to facilitating unchecked development; and

6. Creation of a natural heritage offsetting policy and “pay to slay” fund that could lead to widespread and extremely risky tradeoffs, where existing natural areas are sacrificed on the faulty premise that they can be recreated or restored elsewhere.

Items at risk in the Bill include draining and building on wetlands, removing the conservation of lands and pollution as key conservation area permit considerations, preventing municipalities from entering into agreements with conservation authorities to review planning applications on their behalf, and to possibly re-purpose conservation lands, often donated to a conservation authority for natural use in perpetuity, to housing.

In the face of unprecedented and accelerating biodiversity loss and the ever-worsening climate crisis, it is vital that our government do its utmost to protect the farmland, wetlands, forests, rivers and other natural areas that sustain us.

As Ontario’s Housing Affordability Task Force explained in its 2022 report, we do not need to sacrifice environmental protection to address the housing crisis because “a shortage of land isn’t the cause of the problem. Land is available, both inside the existing built-up areas and on undeveloped land outside greenbelts.”

And “Most of the solution must come from densification. Greenbelts and other environmentally sensitive areas must be protected, and farms provide food and food security. Relying too heavily on undeveloped land would whittle away too much of the already small share of land devoted to agriculture.”

I urge you to 1) withdraw all amendments likely to weaken the protection of farmland and natural heritage; and 2) retain and uphold the role of the public, CAs and regional municipalities in environmental planning and decision-making.

Thank you for your consideration. Our future depends on this.