The MMAH/Planning Act…

The MMAH/Planning Act Changes proposed in Bill 66 are regressive and endanger not only human and environmental health but also the long-term health of our economy.

The most cost-effective over time, the most liveable and the most attractive cities are those where people can live work and play, where there are multi-modal types of transit options, where good planning ensures there are many kinds of housing choices and amenities are nearby.

Bill 66 promotes sprawl — the antithesis of good planning. It puts our few remaining natural spaces and our ever-shrinking foodlands in jeopardy. As well, will wipe out all the invaluable green infrastructure benefits that these lands provide. Congestion in the GTA is already worse than any other area in North America. Adding transit-unfriendly sprawl will make congestion unbearable and will kill economic growth.

Bill 66 bypasses the sound environmental protection and human health Acts that were put in place for a reason. Need I remind you that Ontario’s citizens died because their right to clean drinking water was compromised. We need the Clean Water Act. Your government must be aware that 40 million people depend on the Great Lakes for their drinking water. You cannot allow. The Great Lakes Protection Act to be bypassed. Seven municipalities get their drinking water from Lake Simcoe, a lake that generates over $200 million per year in the local economy, 80% of which is connected to ice fishing. Drinking water, local biodiversity and recreational and commercial fishing in Lake Simcoe must be protected.

The Planning Act, Greenbelt Act, the Oak Ridges Moraine Act and The Places to Grow Act, among others that could be impacted by this Bill, are all essential to the well-being and long-term prosperity of this Province. Governments must act with long-term benefits of all in mind, not the short-term benefits of developers.

This Bill isn’t even needed for the purpose that’s proposed. More than 125,000 hectares of developable land currently exists within urban boundaries as the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and the Neptis Foundation have proved. Not only is green field land available within current urban boundaries but there are thousands of hectares of abandoned industrial lands and low-rise sprawl along main urban transportation corridors desperately in need of redevelopment.

To add insult to injury, this Bill would allow development projects to proceed without a single public meeting. How quickly this government “for the people” has moved to disallow their voices altogether.
Also, how quickly has Premier Ford forgotten his promise not to touch the Greenbelt.

I live in Conservative MPP Sam Oosterhoff’s riding, in a community committed to agricultural excellence, and in an area of Niagara where our wineries, our farms, the beauty of the escarpment and the lake are central to our economy. Bill 66 compromises that here, and around Ontario. This Bill needs to be withdrawn.