I am writing to you on…

I am writing to you on behalf of the Greenspace Alliance of Canada's Capital, a not-for profit volunteer group dedicated to protecting and preserving greenspace since 1997. We strongly oppose proposed changes to the Planning Act that would allow Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs) to override protections for Ontario’s farmland and significant natural areas. Schedule 3 of Bill 257 would amend the Planning Act so that MZOs no longer have to be consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, the very foundation of Ontario’s comprehensive, integrated land use planning framework.

What kind of government would allow giving a single provincial minister the power to unilaterally overturn any municipal zoning decision protecting farmland and natural areas, without oversight or appeal, and outside any policy or legal framework? This is an outrageous, anti-democratic measure that smacks of abuse and corruption.

I urge you to remove Schedule 3 from Bill 257.