RE: 013-4293 Bill 66:…

RE: 013-4293 Bill 66: Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018; 013-4125 Proposed open-for-business planning tool; 013-4239 New Regulation under the Planning Act for open-for-business planning tool

Gravel Watch Ontario acts in the interests of residents and communities to protect the health, safety, quality of life of Ontarians and the natural environment in matters that relate to aggregate resources. We are a province-wide coalition of citizens’ groups and individuals.

Gravel Watch Ontario Members have deep concerns about many aspects of Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018. The proposed legislation would override critical requirements, under several provincial laws and policies that are designed to protect water, farmland, natural heritage and human health. It would do so in a fashion that undermines fair, consistent and transparent public engagement in decision-making.

Collectively, our organizations represent hundreds of citizens across the Greater Golden Horseshoe. On their behalf we urge the government not to proceed with Bill 66, Schedule 10 for the reasons outlined below and trust that they will be considered with respect to all three relevant ERO postings (i.e., 013-4293, 013-4125, 013-4239).

Bill 66 would allow municipalities to pass “open-for-business” zoning by-laws that would circumvent fundamental protections for drinking water, farmland, natural heritage and human health set out in Ontario’s key planning laws and policies and in municipal official plans. The potential negative impact is far-reaching and profound. For example, policies that would not apply in open-for-business zoning by-law areas include:

● Those addressing significant threats to municipal drinking water (e.g., landfills, sewage systems, and the storage or handling of fuel, fertilizers, manure, pesticides, road salt, organic solvents and other substances on lands near wells or surface water intake pipes used by municipal drinking water systems);

● Those protecting farmland, provincially significant wetlands, woodlands, valley lands and habitat of species at risk;

● Those supporting active transportation, affordable housing, green infrastructure and climate resiliency;

● Those protecting key natural heritage features, key hydrologic features, natural core areas and natural linkage areas across the Oak Ridges Moraine;

● Those protecting two-million acres of natural areas and farmland across the Greenbelt;

● Those protecting freshwater and the ecological health of the Lake Simcoe watershed;

● Those supporting smart, integrated, long-term planning for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, a heavily developed region facing intense development pressures.

These and other outcomes of Bill 66 would run contrary to interests and desires of the people of Ontario: a 2016 Nanos poll found that 90 percent of Ontarians believe the government is responsible to ensure a healthy environment for all, and 97 percent support the right to clean air and water.

Our provincial laws and policies establish a fair and coherent rule set and system of governance that uphold the provincial interest, with some flexibility provided locally through municipal official plans. In contrast, the outcome of Bill 66 would be a piecemeal, directionless approach to land-use planning and decision-making, leaving communities vulnerable to the whims of changing councils and powerful and influential developers.

The vulnerability of Ontarians is heightened by the fact that open-for-business zoning by-laws could be passed without any prior public notice or meetings and could not be appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal. In other words, by-laws passed behind closed doors would trump laws, policies and municipal official plans developed through extensive and open public consultation. Communities would have no recourse to influence or challenge them.

Contrary to the government’s contention that Bill 66 cuts regulations that are out of date, almost all the laws and policies affected were recently passed or updated with extensive public consultation. They include the Clean Water Act, 2006, the Toxic Reduction Act, 2009, the Great Lakes Protection Act, 2015, the Provincial Policy Statement (revised in 2014) and the Greenbelt Plan, Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and Growth Plan for the Great Golden Horseshoe (all revised in 2017). Municipal plans themselves are to be updated every five years.

It is also important to remember that many aspects of the modern land-use planning and land conservation framework now in place in Ontario were initiated by Progressive Conservative governments. For example, early work to limit sprawl occurred under the Harris government’s Smart Growth Program and the establishment and protection of the Oak Ridges Moraine was a signature PC government achievement. Undermining that legacy makes no sense to anyone.

Finally, there is no evidence that there is any need to make more employment lands available for development of new businesses or associated commercial, retail or residential development, the ostensible purpose of open-for-business zoning by-laws. At the Growth Plan implementation consultation held on November 8, 2018 at Queen’s Park many municipalities indicated that they have a surplus of employment lands and would like to see these repurposed for residential.

Since the introduction of Bill 66, many municipal councils and planners (e.g., Sudbury, Waterloo, Kitchener, Wilmot, Guelph, Aurora, Burlington, Bradford, Mulmur, Ajax, Wellesley, Puslinch, Whitchurch Stouffville, Barrie, Oakville, Hamilton, Toronto) have expressed serious concerns about its implications and/or have pointed out the presence of significant employment land surpluses within their respective municipalities. Many of these municipalities have also passed resolutions opposing this Bill.

Bill 66 would turn back the clock on many years of good planning, community input and strong leadership from governments of all political stripes. Open-for-business by-laws would sidestep laws and policies intended to protect the long-term health and resilience of our communities and would facilitate sprawling and unchecked development, threatening farmland, water resources and sensitive natural features upon which we all rely. Gravel Watch Ontario believes that Schedule 10 should be wholly deleted from Bill 66.