As a young Ontarian…

As a young Ontarian concerned about our province’s climate future, I am strongly opposed to these proposed regulations. They would significantly undermine local efforts to promote environmentally responsible development and reduce long-term costs for Ontarians.

Key Concerns:
- Weakens municipal authority: Municipalities must retain the power to require studies and standards that reflect their local environmental and planning priorities, including Green Development Standards (GDS).
- Bans critical environmental studies: Preventing municipalities from requiring studies on wind, shadow, urban design, and lighting hinders smart, sustainable planning. These studies are essential for liveability, accessibility, safety, and energy performance.
- Fossil fuel bias: These regulations appear designed to make it easier to mandate natural gas hookups in new developments while blocking municipalities from requiring clean heating alternatives like heat pumps. This is environmentally harmful and economically short-sighted.
- Centralization of planning decisions: Requiring municipalities to accept studies only from "prescribed professionals" risks eroding local review capacity and increasing the influence of developer-aligned consultants, potentially lowering the quality and integrity of the planning process.
- Unintended environmental consequences: The assumption that these changes will have a “neutral” environmental impact is deeply flawed. Limiting municipalities’ ability to assess and manage environmental design will almost certainly lead to increased emissions, reduced resilience, and higher long-term costs for communities.

Recommendation:
- Withdraw or revise the proposed regulations to restore local authority over planning studies and development conditions.
- Allow municipalities to maintain or strengthen Green Development Standards.
- Explicitly permit local requirements for clean energy-ready buildings and climate-resilient urban design.

Ontario’s housing challenges must be addressed, but not at the expense of climate action, public health, or democratic accountability. I urge the Ministry to reconsider this approach and support municipalities in building faster and smarter, without sacrificing the environment.