The current governing party…

The current governing party was elected on the promise not to open the Ontario Greenbelt to new development other than those uses (primarily agricultural or agribusiness related) allowed by The Greenbelt Act of 2005.

The passage of the proposed Bill 66, The Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, if approved as introduced to the legislature in December of 2018, will break this promise. Specifically, Schedule 10 of Bill 66 allows The Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act to override the provisions of section 7 of The Greenbelt Act, when these two acts are in conflict. Similarly, Schedule 10 also gives similar provision of Bill 66 to override section 39 of The Clean Water Act. Both environmental protection acts are essentially gutted by Schedule 10 of Bill 66.

The Greenbelt Act prevents uncontrolled urban and suburban expansion from compromising food production and ecosystem services, both essential and recreational, close to the huge population of Ontario’s ‘Golden Horseshoe.’ This geographic area contains a significant proportion of Ontario’s best farmland and many landscapes of ecological, aesthetic and recreational significance. It must be protected if the quality of life for the residents of urban, suburban and rural inhabitants is to be maintained. Healthy food is essential and its production close to consumers is an increasingly important factor.

Similarly, The Clean Water Act protects the quality of water for all uses, domestic and industrial, for the highly concentrated population of southern Ontario as well as for other regions of Ontario. Healthy water is not an option, and the tragedy of Walkerton immediately comes to mind when protection of drinking water sources is compromised.

The goals of The Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act may be largely desirable, but not at the expense of provincial treasures such as the Greenbelt’s protection of food production and close to home access to natural areas for residents of southern Ontario, and at the expense of jeopardizing the quality of drinking water supplies.

The Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act must be amended to remove its ability to override section 7 of The Greenbelt Act and section 39 of The Clean Water Act.