These amendments to the…

Comment

These amendments to the Planning Act are unacceptable and should not be implemented. The MZO itself is a complete disaster due to its utter disregard of communities where these new developments are taking place. The province should work with cities to plan its developments and not use strong-arming tactics to exercise unjust and outdated practices.

City bylaws allow for proper consultation and contributes to the well being and safety of the community. Regardless of the development - whether it's for affordable housing, et. al. - the local community and city should be involved TOGETHER AT EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.

Negative impact of disregarding city bylaws and pushing developments via MZOs include (but not limited) the following:
* Trees are not properly protected via the city's "Tree Protection Zone (TPZ)" requirement;
* Unsafe environments - scaffoldings for instance are not properly installed (such as in the instance of 153 Eastern demolition where the structure wobbles and unstable);
* Construction equipment that causes harmful fumes are situated near residences which would have been prevented by the city's bylaw officers
* Heritage sites (such as Niagara-on-the-Lake old town, Distillery District and St Lawrence Market in Toronto, Downtown Cambridge in Waterloo, Unionville in Markham) which have been proven to contribute to tourism in Ontario, are unjustly torn down. It has been estimated that tourism has contributed to about 70,000 jobs pre-Covid via 27.5 million tourists that visited Toronto annually. Ontario already lacks tourist attractions and it's shameful to reduce it's heritage ties further.