Submitted to: The…

Submitted to: The Environmental Registry of Ontario

Re: ERO #013-4293, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018

The Association for Canadian Educational Resources (ACER) is a charitable community education organization. Our mission is to build an army of citizen scientists who monitor, measure, mitigate, and adapt to the local impacts of climate change in their own communities.

ACER firmly opposes the Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018 (ERO #013-4293).

Bill 66 makes Ontario’s Greenbelt, our clean drinking water, and farmland vulnerable to the whims of developers.

Ontario’s Greenbelt is a permanently protected area of forests, farmland, wetlands, and watersheds, established by the Government of Ontario in 2005. It is one of the largest greenbelts in the world at nearly two million acres. The Greenbelt provides us with clean water, fresh air, and local food, as well as recreation. It was created to protect agricultural land and prevent urban sprawl. It serves as a crucial part of our provincial economy and heritage.

Schedule 10 of Bill 66 states that “Open for Business” by-laws do not have to comply with fundamental protections to environmental and human health, including:
· Ontario Planning and Development Act, 1994
· Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001
· Greenbelt Act, 2005
· Places to Grow Act, 2005
· Metrolinx Act, 2006
· Lake Simcoe Protection Act, 2008
· Great Lakes Protection Act, 2015

In addition, the bill leaves ambiguous space for noncompliance by including language referring to any other “prescribed provisions” in provincial legislation.

“Open for Business” by-laws erode governmental transparency, as they may be passed without public notice, behind closed doors. If citizens take issue with them, they are left without recourse. Community members are not permitted to appeal to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal. An informed, educated citizenry is an invaluable strength for Ontario, and keeping legislative processes as accessible as possible is in all of our best interests.

It is more important than ever to look forward as informed citizens, to plan, and to educate those who will live the consequences. Bill 66 will undo decades of work in Ontario, pulling us backward into the dark.