The “Faster and Smarter Act”…

The “Faster and Smarter Act” includes deeply concerning provisions:

• Elimination of Municipal Authority over Green Standards: This would remove the ability of cities to enforce local environmental standards that mandate important features such as trees, bird-friendly design, energy-efficient buildings, and transit-oriented development. These Green Standards are crucial tools that municipalities use to mitigate climate change while guiding sustainable urban growth. Eliminating them means that new developments could ignore essential environmental safeguards—leading to increased urban heat, lower air quality, more stormwater runoff and flooding, habitat loss, and long-term damage to public health and quality of life.

• Limits on Expert Oversight: Bill 17 would allow the Province alone to decide who can carry out environmental studies for development proposals. This takes away municipalities’ power to require assessments from qualified local experts such as arborists, hydrologists, engineers, energy professionals, and ecologists. Weakening expert oversight drastically reduces the depth and quality of environmental assessments, increasing the likelihood of poorly informed decisions that could permanently harm ecosystems, water quality, wildlife habitats, and tree canopy coverage—all of which directly support human health, safety, and climate resilience.

• Development on Urban Green Spaces: Proposed amendments to the Planning Act would override local zoning laws and allow development on lands currently designated as parks, woodlots, open spaces, and other protected areas. This could lead to the loss of critical green infrastructure that provides shade, mental health benefits, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and flood protection. Once built on, these spaces are lost for generations—if not forever—robbing communities of access to nature, outdoor recreation, and climate mitigation.

• Reduced Municipal Funding for Public Amenities: The Bill limits municipalities’ ability to collect development charges, which are often used to fund public infrastructure such as community centres, parks, libraries, and transit. This shift means that while development increases, municipalities will have fewer resources to provide the services and amenities needed to support growing populations—leading to overcrowded or under-resourced public spaces, increased inequality, and social strain.

• Less Community Input on Local Decisions: The Bill would streamline the development approval process in a way that limits public engagement in land use decisions. This reduces transparency, weakens democratic accountability, and silences the voices of residents who are most affected by these decisions. Over time, this erodes trust in government and fosters development that may not reflect the values, needs, or priorities of local communities.

Why this matters:
This Bill undermines environmental protection, expert input, local governance, and community voices—all of which are foundational to healthy, livable, and resilient communities. It prioritizes short-term development over long-term well-being. The repercussions could include more severe climate impacts, increased flooding, poorer air and water quality, mental health declines from reduced access to green space, and a diminished ability to adapt to the environmental challenges of the future.