There is widespread…

There is widespread opposition to Bill 66 (Schedule 10) by the very community councils one might think would be benefitting from it. In our area, the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, and Guelph, the townships and the Regional government are all opposing Schedule 10 and sending in notice of their opposition. It behooves our representatives and the government to ask why that is. I would hope that even a majority government would take a sober second look and respond to deep concerns about what they are proposing. The legislation needs to be either stopped or rewritten before being passed.

Here’s part of why I’m worried about it: Schedule 10 gives municipal governments the option to create “open for business” bylaws which will allow development to bypass provincial laws that protect water, agriculture, sensitive lands, and community development plans. This will also remove the public consultation process so that people will not have the option to comment on development. Once the bylaws are passed, there is no right of appeal to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal. In addition,  municipalities don’t need to give advance public notice that they are planning to pass these bylaws. This has the potential to:

·         Subvert local planning strategies and land use organization and create haphazard development.

·         Remove our chance and choice as local citizens to have a say about what happens in our backyards.

·         Remove the opportunities of local governments to have input into what might affect them from neighbouring areas (e.g., upstream polluters).

·         Negatively impact water, air and sensitive or high priority land, that has been designated for protection or special use (e.g. growing food, protecting groundwater for drinking).

·         Put (sometimes vulnerable) local governments even more at risk of being influenced by powerful industry.

·        Have lasting negative impacts on the environment that we leave for our children.

I have heard it argued that local governments are not obliged to create an "open for business" bylaw.  That's true, but the creation of the option opens up a vulnerable local government to temptation from powerful and perhaps financially attractive businesses that may not be in the best interests of the people or the long term quality of the environment. We would hope the local councils would act in those best interests, but that's not always the case. That's why we have laws in place, the very legislation that these new bylaws would circumvent.

Thank you for the work you do on our behalf.