We are deeply concerned…

We are deeply concerned about both the sharp increase in the use of Minister's Zoning Orders (MZOs) over the past year ad the enhanced powers granted to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing through amendments to the planning Act, without public consultation, through Schedule 17 of Bill 197. As noted by the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA), public consultation now, six months after the legislation was amended, makes a mockery of the public participation rights established under Ontario's Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR). The amendments to the Planning Act that were enacted through Schedule 17 of Bill 197 should be immediately repealed.

We believe that the new Planning Act provisions enacted through Schedule 17 of Bill 197 are part of an insidious pattern of environmental deregulation, which not only threatens precious farmland and natural areas but also rides roughshod over our democratic right to participate in environmental decision-making, enshrined in both the Planning Act and the Environmental Bill of Rights. These provisions should be immediately repealed. Further, the Planning Act should be amended so that the use of MZOs is restricted to areas lacking planning controls and to matters of provincial interest, and so that the public receives notice and has an opportunity to comment on proposed MZOs and a right to appeal them once they are issued.

We plead with you to repeal the amendments to the Planning Act.