Friday, November 20, 2020…

Friday, November 20, 2020

Sent via ERO form.

Cheryl Davis
Minister of Transportation - Environmental Policy Office
777 Bay Street, Suite 700
Toronto, Ontario, M7A 2J8

Dear Ms. Davis

RE: ERO # 019-2566, Bill 222, Ontario Rebuilding and Recovery Act Consultation

The City of Guelph (the City) is pleased to provide comments on the Province’s proposed Bill 222 - Ontario Rebuilding and Recovery Act, 2020.

Guelph falls within the GTA West region of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s (MTO’s) regional planning structure, and within the Metrolinx Guelph Subdivision area of planning and development to support two-way all-day GO service between Kitchener and Union Station. The City takes an active interest in MTO and Metrolinx plans and initiatives as they influence or intersect with local transportation needs in our community.

We have reviewed this proposed Bill amendment in the context of potential changes that may amend the Act in future to include provincial transit projects within our boundaries. We acknowledge that none of the currently listed Priority Transit Projects are within our boundaries.

The City has made it a priority to support and advocate for improvements to regional transit connectivity, including two-way all-day GO service from Kitchener to Union Station. Our Strategic Plan also values clear communication and engagement with our community as critical to the successful delivery of programs and services. We generally support the proposed amendments contained in Bill 222, and have the following comments to provide:

Communications and Engagement:
Appropriate and reasonable communications and timelines must be sustained to allow for adequate public engagement with affected communities. The City of Guelph continues to work closely with the Province and transit agencies to ensure this expectation is met, as was the case with the closure of a local at-grade rail crossing this year.

Streamlined Land Assembly:
We expect that any lands implicated in a “streamlined land assembly” effort would take into account local or provincial heritage designations and statuses and treat these properties with the appropriate degree of study, conservation and/or protection.

MTO Authority:
We seek clarity with regards to the statement that the “MTO is proposing amendments to the TOC Act to provide this same authority to the Minister of Transportation.” Is this only in reference to Priority Transit Projects as defined by the Act, or is this a more general application of the Authority to MTO priority projects not listed in the Act (for example, highway improvements)?

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comment.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Juste, Manager, Transportation Planning
Engineering and Transportation Services, Infrastructure, Design and Enterprise
Location: City Hall

T 519-822-1260 extension 2791
TTY 519-826-9771
E Jennifer.juste@guelph.ca
guelph.ca

C Robin Gerus, Terry Gayman, Krista Walkey, Jodie Sales, Gwen Zhang