I have identified some…

I have identified some concern for the unintended consequences of removing major commercial and institutional uses from the definition of employment, wherein protection for these uses will be removed. Thunder Bay is the largest City Centre in Northern Ontario and accepted as a hub for the north. As such, large areas of Thunder Bay provide and support neighbouring communities. Lands designated institutional, accommodate secondary educational institutions including Lakehead University Campus, Confederation College Campus, the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital, and numerous other Healthcare related professions, where thousands of needed, great jobs exist. I am concerned that recognition of these lands as providing for employment should not be lost in the count toward lands Municipally dedicated for employment.

Some clarity for the term Employment area would be helpful. Perhaps changing “Employment Area” to “Industrial Employment Area” so that everyone is clear that only industrial employment lands are protected for compatibility reasons. Recognizing that there are other types of uses that represent employment land but are not protected since they are compatible with other uses or sensitive uses.

Further, since this definition is proposed to be carried over to the proposed Provincial Planning Statement, and Institutional use is a defined term in the PPS, but only for the purpose of preventing such uses in areas prone to flooding, where vulnerable populations visit or reside in institutional uses, and given that institutional uses are excluded from employment areas and there is no corresponding definition for the purposes of employment area policies. I am concerned that this will lead to multiple and potentially contradictory interpretations of institutional uses across the province.

• Suggest that the Province apply the existing institutional use definition to the exclusion of such uses within employment areas, or
• If the existing institutional use definition is not applied to employment areas, then suggest that municipalities define institutional uses in their official plans for the purposes of interpreting and implementing policies for employment areas.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment.