Ministerial Zoning Orders…

Ministerial Zoning Orders can be dangerous when they circumvent local planning, provincial environmental protections ( for example for significant wetlands) and built heritage protections.
When a Municipality establishes an Official Plan, it is based on the needs of the community established after extensive research and rigorous public consultation. Overriding these plans, without public consultation is undemocratic and undermines ability of a community to determine the type of community in which they would like to live. Ministerial Zoning Orders already exist to assist in specific emergencies but should not be enhanced to deny the public consultation. Some orders have already been used to override environmental protections that have been established by the Province. These kinds of orders give unfettered power to change and to destroy natural and built communities without any consideration for the people who live there. Wetlands, are an important habitat which house diverse species, provide recreation and educational opportunities and very importantly in this time of climate change, store carbon. They cannot be replaced once they are destroyed. Shortsighted destruction of natural heritage, agricultural land and hazard lands will have long term consequences for the environment, flooding, water quality and the economy. This concentrated power opens the door to political lobbying by developers and special interest groups at the expense of the general population and the health of our environment and should be avoided.
Do not move forward with these proposed provisions to the Planning Act. They do not benefit the people of Ontario; they remove their rights to proper consultation concerning planning issues within their communities.