We are deeply troubled by…

We are deeply troubled by Bill 23 and the proposed amendments to the Greenbelt Plan. Many of the Ontario government’s actions can only be described as undemocratic, as there is no mandate for these sweeping reforms. The province is dismissive of stakeholders, ENGO’s and NGO’s that express concern and/or opposition. The ENGO community has gotten used to this, but the fact that the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s concerns are also being ignored is unprecedented. This head in the sand behaviour reflects an unwillingness to acknowledge the magnitude of public concern and to fairly listen to all experts and stakeholders.

Our[a] High Level Recommendations:

Slow down: Do not pass Bill 23 or support the Proposed Amendments to the Greenbelt Plan until proper consultation is completed with affected stakeholders, key interest groups including Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Conservation Authorities (CA), and affordable housing advocates. The housing rationale used for these measures must be demonstrated to be sound; to date the measures proposed are not supported by planners, municipalities or housing advocates.
Allow Conservation Authorities to maintain their current role in permitting in regulated areas, allow them to conserve land, reduce pollution via land use planning review and permits. Don’t further consider land owned by CA’s for housing development. Uphold the purpose and rationale for CA’s, namely preservation, conservation and stewardship of land with natural hazard risks.
Require a full Environmental Assessment for the Duffins York-Durham Sewage System servicing northern York Region.
Abandon the abolition of Regional Planning: There are issues with regional planning, but the only support for the proposal to eliminate the important coordinating role of regional government, particularly for infrastructure planning, is from land speculators and developers. If there’s a rationale for the government’s proposal that serves the public interest, please provide.
Do not encroach on the Greenbelt and Oak Ridges Moraine: There’s enough land to build the housing that Ontario needs for 30 years. Even BILD has said they don’t need Greenbelt. This file stinks; any self-respecting MPP or Councillor should immediately distance themselves from these hand-picked, unjustifiable Greenbelt land removals.
Protect Wetlands, Natural Heritage, Species at Risk and Ontario from the inevitable risks of Climate Change! It is unfathomable that we even need to say this. Southern Ontario is an “ecoregion in crisis”. Removing more natural features here and adding protections to lands elsewhere obviously isn’t going to improve our ecoregion. Do not change the OWES wetland evaluation system. Maintain strong prohibitions on alteration of landscape in Ontario’s Natural Heritage System (NHS) and its features in the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS). Do not allow offsets, trades, or “compensation” agreements. Capitalize on the free service provided via natural asset management instead of infrastructure and capital intensive engineered solutions.
Allow Members of the Public and CA to appeal Official Plan, Zoning Bylaw Amendments and Sprawl Proposals to the Ontario Lands Tribunal. Make the playing field level once more by providing the same rights to both project proponents and community players interested in challenging and/or improving planning proposals/Official Plans. Consider threshold levels to reduce appeals abusing the process.
Do not override Official Plans. For better or worse they are far more democratic than the proposals flowing out of the government of Ontario at this time.
Maintain the PPS & Growth Plan, its density requirements, and support rational infrastructure phasing policies to make the best use of limited taxpayer and developer dollars.