The proposed Minister’s…

The proposed Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs) for Midtown Oakville plainly fail to satisfy the Ontario government’s own stated criteria for their use. There is no municipal support: Town Council has not endorsed the project, and community opposition is both clear and well documented. There is no justification for overriding established provincial, regional, and municipal planning policies, including OPA 70. Nor is there any credible urgency. The proponent’s own materials show that construction would not meaningfully begin until after 2030, with full build-out extending decades beyond that.

MZOs are intended to be extraordinary measures, not a self-serving substitute for comprehensive planning. Yet the sole rationale advanced here—so-called “zoning certainty”—amounts to little more than an attempt to entrench speculative land value, transfer risk from the developer to the public, and lock in an outdated proposal. In doing so, the MZOs would strip the Town of its ability to respond to actual housing needs, infrastructure capacity, and evolving conditions over time.

You can and should do be better.