I am a resident of Waterloo…

I am a resident of Waterloo and I write to support the bold and visionary Waterloo Regional Official Plan that continues our current success and trajectory with sustainable, complete 15-minute walkable communities, more active transit, more public transit including Phase 2 and Phase 3 of iON LRT, more housing choice, more housing affordability, and better protection of farmland, groundwater, and green space.

Bill #23 has decimated Regional Planning by removing the planning authority from the Region of Waterloo that has been responsible for so much success. It places our regional designations and environmental protections in serious jeopardy. These include the Countryside Line, the Protected Countryside, Environmentally Sensitive Landscape (ESL) areas, ESPA areas, and even Source Water Protection Areas. Worse yet, the Grand River Conservation Authority can no longer provide the protection, services, or oversight we have counted on for decades. To make it even worse, on 23 December, just before Christmas so that it would be buried in seasonal news coverage, the Ontario government removed protections on almost all local wetlands and floodplains -- an irresponsible and devastating action.

The pending destruction and long-term consequences of these actions are almost unfathomable. We need to be doing everything that we can to ensure that the world-leading planning in the Waterloo Region visionary 30-year Regional Official Plan is approved in a manner that continues to ensure Smart Growth and the current success of balancing growth with strong farmland, water, and environmental protection. We MUST NOT SEE thousands of acres of totally unnecessary urban sprawl and the destruction of our local farms forced onto our Region and local municipalities.