To Whom it May Concern The…

To Whom it May Concern

The Ontario Headwaters Institute, an Ontario corporation with charitable status, promotes watershed security in Ontario - water for people and for nature.

Watershed security exists when conditions support the ecological integrity, social wellbeing, and economic vitality of a watershed. These conditions protect biodiversity, provide water for human use, reduce impacts from drought and flooding, and serve as the basis for a stable society.

Where ecological features and functions deteriorate, such as through poor planning or land occupancy practices, invasive species, or climate change, our social and economic wellbeing will be challenged.

Unfortunately, watershed security is deteriorating across much of Ontario and is further threatened due to both recent actions and inaction by the provincial government.

Actions that have already reduced watershed security include extensive changes to the Conservation Authorities Act, the Aggregate Resources Act, the Endangered Species Act, and more.

Unfortunately, in spite of the harm these changes are causing, the simple reality is that the government is initiating far more extensive damage to watershed security through deliberate inaction under the Housing Action Plan, such as through the municipal boundary expansions in this Bill, by suspending the requirement of planning authorities, of which the Provincial government is one, to adhere to s. 4.2.1 of the Provincial Policy Statement – ie:
“Planning authorities shall protect, improve or restore the quality and quantity of water by:
a) using the watershed as the ecologically meaningful scale for integrated and long-term planning, which can be a foundation for considering cumulative impacts of development;
b) minimizing potential negative impacts, including cross-jurisdictional and cross-watershed impacts;
c) evaluating and preparing for the impacts of a changing climate to water resource systems at the watershed level; etc”.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has no special dispensation to ignore its duty to protect, improve, or restore watershed security in Ontario. As we have suggested repeatedly, MMAH must adopt a new direction to embrace integrated land use and watershed planning, and stop threatening the future of our watersheds.

Respectfully submitted,

Andrew McCammon

Executive Director