I strongly urge you to allow…

I strongly urge you to allow municipalities to continue requiring and using all reports/studies needed to meet their Green Development Standards (GDS).

Municipalities are using GDS to improve health and safety in new homes, lower the energy bills of residents, reduce infrastructure costs, prevent municipal property taxes from increasing, lower demand on our energy systems, and cut emissions.
Bill 17 would negatively impact municipalities’ ability to implement GDS, limiting their capacity to ensure that new development is built quickly, is energy-efficient, weather-proof, and affordable over the long term.

GDS reduce red tape and standardize planning processes, resulting in long-term predictability that housing developers need to succeed.

GDS consolidate preexisting sustainability-related planning requirements into a single document with clear expectations.
As a result, GDS accelerate rather than slow housing development.

on the Ontario municipalities benchmarked by the Canadian Home
Builders' Association (CHBA), all of the cities with a GDS have made progress in accelerating approval timelines, while all of the cities without a GDS have seen timelines get slower.
Regulations related to Bill 17 must be in compliance with other powers and authorities granted to municipalities to avoid confusion and delays for future developments.

Working with nature and sustainability have time and time again proven to be the way forward to faster and more durable success with long term dividends. It is time that this government stops favoring industry and begins favoring the needs of its citizens.

I am very unimpressed with this government's efforts to undermine municipal progressive policies through various Acts and policy changes. These are undemocratic, unhelpful, and unsustainable.