I am responding to ERO 019…

I am responding to ERO 019-6813 to express my opposition to this proposal to replace the Provincial Policy Statement (2020) and the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (Growth Plan) with a new Provincial Planning Statement.

Both the Provincial Policy Statement and the Growth Plan provide comprehensive and balanced direction on land use planning matters. These two documents represent decades of progress on land use policy. The Growth Plan was the first plan to provide a framework for implementing Ontario’s vision for building stronger, prosperous communities by better managing growth in this region. The GGH has some of Canada’s most important fertile soil and productive farmland, a moderate climate, and abundant water resources. It is one of four provincial plans that guide this region’s growth. I urge you not to eliminate our Growth Plan.

The proposed Planning Statement is housing focussed and facilitates urban sprawl development by:
- Eliminating mandatory intensification and greenfield density targets
- Allowing Municipalities to expand settlement areas without a Municipal Comprehensive Review
- Allowing multiple severances on prime agricultural lands
- Weakening and eliminating policies that address climate change
- Removing the requirements of the Growth Plan that requires Municipalities to undertake watershed planning

Ontario’s Housing Affordability Task Force in 2022 determined that the housing shortage was not caused by a land shortage. The Task Force advised that the solution must come from densification. Our existing Growth Plan is focussed on achieving complete communities supported by transit, protected employment zones and an increase in the amount and variety of housing available.

Do not replace the PPS (2020) and the Growth Plan with a Planning Statement which prioritizes land development at the expense of other provincial matters. Building on the policies already in place and incorporating strong policies to protect and restore our natural environment is urgently needed. Floods, wildfires and extreme heat are causing life threatening and irreparable damage to our natural environment, our health and our safety. What is proposed fails to address the conditions we are facing.