As a resident of the…

As a resident of the Greenbelt, I OPPOSE Bill 23 "More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022".

Bill 23 would remove requirements for public meetings on certain planning matters. It would also remove people’s right to appeal planning decisions.

Bill 23 would give the Minister the power to override municipal planning decisions (e.g., amend municipal Official Plans) and impose development.

The power of Conservation Authorities (CAs) to regulate or prohibit development that negatively impacts wetlands, rivers or streams would be undermined.

Conservation Authorities (CAs) would in effect be prohibited from providing municipalities with the expert advice and information they need on environmental and natural heritage matters.

Watershed planning, the hallmark of Ontario’s CAs, would be severely diminished, to be replaced with piecemeal planning by over 400 individual municipalities.

This Bill 23 would lead to uncoordinated, piecemeal planning across the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

The government is proposing to completely overhaul the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System for identifying Provincially Significant Wetlands (PSWs), ensuring that very few wetlands would be deemed provincially significant in the future.

The government is proposing to introduce an offsetting policy to guide efforts to compensate for the loss of wetlands, woodlands and other natural areas as a result of development. The proposal includes a “pay to slay” natural heritage compensation fund. Developers would be allowed to destroy wetlands, woodlands and other wildlife habitats as long as they pay into the fund.

These changes will set land use planning back decades and will stymie societal efforts to address the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss through enlightened environmental planning and decision-making.