Thank you for the…

Thank you for the opportunity to review and provide feedback on the proposed amendments to the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act.

Regional staff request more information on the archaeological assessment exemptions in the proposed amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act. In the proposed amendments, there is a new section that proposes that the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, via order, exempt a property from the application of a requirement to conduct an archaeological assessment if the Lieutenant Governor in Council is of the opinion that such exemption could potentially advance one or more listed provincial priorities, including transit, housing, health and long-term care, other infrastructure. Municipalities need clear direction as to whether these exemptions will be Provincially-driven or whether there will be an ability for municipalities to provide input into these exemption orders to advance municipal projects in a more timely manner. And, if municipal input will be considered, we require direction on how this information is to be received by the Province, what information is required to be given, and retention requirements for the supporting documents.

Also, the technical briefing included as part of the review package references transforming environmental oversight by streamlining the Municipal Class Environmental Assessments (EA). Generally, Halton Region has welcomed the opportunity to examine opportunities to modernize and streamline the EA process to enable the acceleration of infrastructure to support approved growth. However, Regional staff have identified concerns with the changes proposed to the EA regulations that guide municipal infrastructure projects and have previously shared these concerns in feedback provided to the ERO. Given the technical briefing content, we would like to take the opportunity to restate these concerns.

The revocation of the Municipal Class EA and exemption of EA requirements for the majority of municipal infrastructure projects does not in itself absolve municipalities from their obligation to the public, First Nations, and others that may be impacted by their projects. The legislation proposed in February 2024 still articulates that municipalities are expected to undertake the appropriate steps to continue to engage stakeholders on projects that may be of interest to them, and make environmentally responsibly decisions, irrespective of EA requirements. The Region requests further guidance from the Province on the development of a new process(es) for consultation, coordinated with other Ministries and regulatory agencies in order to achieve the streamlining required.