Bruce County supports the…

Bruce County supports the provincial interest and objectives in streamlining approvals to get projects done – in the right way.

In this spirit we offer the following comments with respect to the Special Economic Zones Act, 2025:

The County and local municipalities are working to streamline and focus local policy frameworks and align them with provincial direction. We appreciate the province recognizing provincial regulatory requirements can impact the development approval process.

In consideration of legal and regulatory exemptions, particularly of significant and strategically important projects it is important to ensure critical and sufficient review to ensure everything lines up – and that there are not unresolved issues that could surface with greater impact later in the project. Immunity from indemnification on an issue doesn’t resolve the underlying issue.

There is an important role for local decision-making that addresses local contexts, and there is concern about the province identifying new pathways / approaches to override responsibilities delegated to local municipalities. There is also a broader opportunity for the province to review regulatory purposes, timelines, and resources to move the needle on all projects, not just projects ‘in the [special economic] zone’.

Further, Bruce County requests that the province provide more than 30 days to receive comments on important legislative changes, to allow appropriate time for Councils to receive and deliberate before submitting comments.