The National Farmers Union -…

The National Farmers Union - Ontario (NFU-O) is an accredited farm organization representing
sustainable farmers in Ontario and has advocated for farmers across Ontario since 1969. NFU-O
policy calls on all levels of government to enact and follow transparent, rational planning
guidelines, regulations, and bylaws to ensure fairness to all citizens, to protect farmland and
ecologically sensitive areas from development, and to prevent the further privatization of
public lands.

The proposed legislative and regulatory changes under the Proposed Changes to the Planning
Act (Schedule 10 of Bill 60 - the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025) and the Consultation
on simplifying and standardizing official plans around official plans and Minister Zoning Orders
(MZOs) raise significant concerns for the long-term protection of finite and invaluable Ontario
farmland. While we commend the Ontario Government for making some positive changes like
quicker development of septic systems for on-farm worker housing, the NFU-O is opposed to
guidelines that erode protective regulations for farmland and natural heritage lands, and that
diminish transparent, democratic decision-making. Without strong regulatory mechanisms that
are complementary to agriculture and development, the future of Ontario’s farmland and food
security are at risk.

Official Plans
The proposed legislative and regulatory changes under the Consultation on simplifying and
standardizing official plans outline provisions for streamlining official plans in order to quicken
the development approval process. Section B of the Consultation on simplifying and standardizing official plans proposes limiting the amount of pages or words of official plans, and suggests the criteria potentially be based on population in the following discussion questions.

While we recognize Ontario’s urgent housing needs, this approach poses a significant threat to
agriculture, as municipal needs vary regionally. Basing the page or word count of an official plan
on population size has the potential to reduce or eliminate key agricultural provisions like
Agricultural Impact Assessments (AIA’s).

The NFU-O recommends that there are no page or word count limitations introduced to official
plans, and that official plans require key agricultural protections like AIA’s to be triggered for
new developments in a standardized manner across all municipalities through the Planning Act.
MZOs

Changes are suggested in the Proposed Changes to the Planning Act (Schedule 10 of Bill 60 - the
Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025) to remove the regulation status of MZOs in order to
streamline processes, facilitate faster decisions, and support provincial development priorities.
Removing MZOs as a regulation under the Planning Act will give the Minister sweeping powers
to override the Provincial Planning Statement and the agricultural protections therein. This
leaves our finite farmland and agricultural resources vulnerable to development without the
consideration of factors like prime agricultural land, specialty crop areas, agricultural natural
heritage preservation, the agricultural systems approach, restricting non-agricultural
development, prohibiting land fragmentation, and focusing growth in settlement areas.

The NFU-O recommends that MZOs should be an exception to the rule, as they were originally
intended. Despite the fact that development proposals should undergo proper review
processes, MZOs have been increasingly popular in recent years to help accelerate
development approvals. This new provision allows for a favouring of development over
agricultural protection. While we recognize Ontario’s urgent housing needs, we maintain that
development decisions should always involve thorough and rigorous assessment, the
application of the precautionary principle, and ensuring that agricultural land is not sacrificed
for development priorities.

Conclusion
The NFU-O urges the Ontario Government to ensure that legislative and regulatory changes
reflected in the Proposed Changes to the Planning Act (Schedule 10 of Bill 60 - the Fighting
Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025) and the Consultation on simplifying and standardizing official
plans do not come at the expense of the province’s invaluable farmland or the democratic
processes that safeguard it. Transparent regulatory frameworks are essential to balancing housing needs with long-term food security and environmental stewardship. We emphasize that Official Plans must retain the detail required to address regional agricultural considerations, and that MZOs must remain as exceptions to the rule, rather than mechanisms for bypassing due process. Ontario’s farmland is a finite resource, and once lost, it cannot be recovered. Thoughtful, precautionary planning today is essential to preserve a sustainable food system for future generations.