I am writing to express my…

I am writing to express my strong opposition to the provisions in Bill 23 that:

• Takes away land use planning powers from municipalities
• Takes away needed development charge revenue from municipalities resulting in increased taxes for ordinary taxpayers
• Promotes urban sprawl rather than intensification, using up far more land than necessary per housing unit and necessitating building of more highways like the proposed 417
• Fails to address the real problems of building more affordable homes
• Guts the powers of Ontario’s Conservation Authorities
• Reduces parkland requirements for new development
• Encourages development on farmland, wetlands, conservation areas and the Greenbelt lands
• Limits the rights of individuals and community groups to protest planning decisions

This is a very complex set of changes to existing legislation being rammed through in a gargantuan omnibus bill. It will benefit land speculators, housing developers and quarry operators far more than ordinary citizens.

In times when the climate crisis is worsening and has become an existential problem for mankind, it’s extremely important to reduce our carbon footprint by preserving all the green space we possibly can. Planting millions of trees is a laudable aspiration but it is also critical to stop destroying mature forests.

Let’s stick with the Official Plans for the municipalities in Ontario, let those municipalities get on with building more affordable homes. The land and aggregate resources to do this are already available.

Bill 23 reeks of ideology from the right wing conservative playbook; i.e. slash regulations and give wealthy and powerful friends more freedom to enrich themselves. Please go back and rethink this whole issue. Revoke or suspend Bill 23 now.