I am writing to express my…

I am writing to express my vehement opposition to the new Bill 23 and the long-term, negative impact this regressive bill will have on Ontario's Greenbelt, wetlands, farmland, sustainable building standards, and the increased financial burden it will ultimately place on taxpayers.

The vast majority of residents of Ontario have already expressed their opposition to opening up our natural gem, the Ontario Greenbelt, to suburban development. The Ford Government already went on public record several times - within the past year - stating that they would NOT open any portion of the Greenbelt to developers. In fact, this Government stated they would seek to expand the Greenbelt- so why the sudden change? The current government DOES NOT have a mandate from Ontarians to open up the Greenbelt - not one acre - to developers. Protecting our diminishing natural environment, farmland, wetlands and biodiversity to the benefit of all Ontarians is a fundamental mandate for any elected government - PC, Liberal or NDP - that is your job! It's truly pathetic, with all the resources and "intellect" this Government has its disposal, that the best idea for affordable housing they can come up with is, once again, paving over the Greenbelt.

With respect to "building homes faster", why doesn't the government seek to work with commercial property owners to retrofit existing office buildings and vacant parking lots into residential communities? Take a stroll around the commercial office area of Renforth and Eglinton on any given workday - it's practically a ghost town of half-empty buildings, shuttered restaurants and hectares of vacant parking lots, no longer used by office workers. And all of these old, empty buildings are already surrounded by highways, public transit and other infrastructure. Why can't the Regressive Conservatives work with the owners of these ghost towers and turn this massive area of West Toronto and Mississauga into a viable mix-use community? How about financial incentives to these commercial property owners to take down the multiple For Lease signs, and retrofit their office buildings into AFFORDABLE residential condos for first time-buyers and seniors (not 4,000 square foot homes with 3 car garages that will inevitably be built on the Greenbelt). How about a government with a long-term plan and a vision for the GTA and Ontario that goes beyond increased sprawl, cookie cutter houses and big box stores?
I also don't understand why it is necessary to suddenly implement a provincial government Bill that essentially trumps any and all environmental standards for municipalities have in place. Builders in the city of Toronto have already been working with the city's standards for years and they seem to be doing quite well getting buildings erected. You can't turn a corner in downtown Toronto without coming across a new construction project and the sky is filled with cranes. So why would the Regressive Conservatives need to give Developers the power to disregard sustainable, energy efficient, bird-friendly building standards designed for the long-term benefit of future homeowners, the environment and all residents of Toronto? Nobody, except disreputable Developers seeking to improve their profit margins, will benefit from this regressive change (was this idea ever announced during the last provincial election as a solution to the housing affordability problem - of course not).

Although it's obvious with the tabling of yet another Omnibus Bill of destruction, the environment and sustainable development is the last priority for this Government, it is also clear they have a great disdain for local Municipalities and existing homeowners. First, this Bill takes away any authority local Conservation Authorities to protect our watersheds or Urban Planners have to implement the Official Plans that govern the long-term vision for our communities. Second, by cutting development fees for the Developers this government solely serves, their costs to build infrastructure will now shift to the Municipalities, which in turn will be transferred to, guess who, THE TAXPAYER! Given local governments cannot run an annual deficit, their only choice will be to make up the revenue loss with an immediate and substantial HIKE IN PROPERTY TAXES. So, this Bill only ensures the Regressive Conservatives appear like heroes as they simply download the costs of new developments to existing homeowners and mom and pop business owners at a local level. Did this Government ever think that perhaps existing property owners are struggling financially too and don't have the capacity to subsidize new development projects in order to improve the profit margins for Developers? If a Developer can't afford to put in a park with trees next to a new condo building, then they shouldn't be in business.

There definitely should have been much more transparency as to what this Government was planning to do and more time for public input. The fact that the Regressive Conservatives made a point of announcing Bill 23 on a Friday afternoon, during a CUPE strike threat and IMMEDIATELY after Municipal elections with new city councils not even in place yet, proves that they (a) already know Bill 23 does NOT serve the best interests of Ontarians and (b) don't really give a damn anyways.