I am writing to express my…

I am writing to express my opposition to Bill 23 and associated policy proposals that would weaken environmental protections and undermine public involvement in land use planning and decision-making.

I am particularly concerned about the:

1. Removal of my right to appeal on planning matters that affect my community.

2. Limitations on the power of conservation authorities (CAs) to regulate or prohibit development that negatively impacts wetlands, rivers or streams, to provide expert review of planning applications, and to appeal planning decisions.

3. Removal of the role of seven regional municipalities (Simcoe, Durham, Halton, Peel, Niagara, Waterloo and York) in planning matters, thereby eliminating coordinated efforts to protect farmland and natural areas, determine optimal locations for development and infrastructure, and efficiently deliver municipal services.

4. Drastic amendments to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System, ensuring that very few wetlands in Ontario will be deemed provincially significant and protected from development.

5. Replacement of the Provincial Policy Statement with a new policy instrument geared to facilitating unchecked development; and

6. Creation of a natural heritage offsetting policy and “pay to slay” fund that could lead to widespread and extremely risky tradeoffs, where existing natural areas are sacrificed on the faulty premise that they can be recreated or restored elsewhere.

In the face of unprecedented and accelerating biodiversity loss and the ever-worsening climate crisis, it is vital that your government do its utmost to protect the farmland, wetlands, forests, rivers and other natural areas that sustain us. As Ontario’s Housing Affordability Task Force explained in its 2022 report, we do not need to sacrifice environmental protection to address the housing crisis. That’s because “a shortage of land isn’t the cause of the problem.” (p.10) There is a vast supply of land already open for development within existing municipal settlement boundaries.

I urge you to 1) withdraw all amendments likely to weaken the protection of farmland and natural heritage; and 2) retain and uphold the role of the public, CAs and regional municipalities in environmental planning and decision-making.