I am alarmed by the sweeping…

I am alarmed by the sweeping new powers that will be granted to municipalities if Omnibus Bill 66 is passed. While many sections include disturbing changes with impact across all sectors, I am most opposed to Schedule 10 for two significant reasons. Intended to move development forward quickly, Schedule 10 will allow any municipality in Ontario to pass an “Open For Business” bylaw that will override existing provincial legislation and local planning bylaws that protect our water and our environment. Secondly this bylaw will require no public consultation and permit no appeal process. It will require only the approval of the Minister of Planning

Many of these existing regulations deemed “red tape” by the Ford government are actually the fabric of our safety net developed by all political parties over decades. They are here to protect our public health, our environment, our water sources, our land use and our future as a planet. Some were put in place as a response to tragedies such as Walkerton. Others have been developed by both the province and the municipalities to protect agricultural resources, to ensure safe and clean water and to protect the forests and green spaces recognized as essential to mitigate the catastrophic impact of climate change. We need these safeguards. They are not ”red tape”

My second cause for alarm in this section of Bill 66 is that it permits a municipal council to implement an open-for-business bylaw without public consultation. The risks will not be publically weighed against any financial or economic benefits. According to the legislation there will be no appeals allowed. Furthermore, in the fine print of the current proposed Bill there is a provision that should other pieces of legislation be deemed “red tape” in the planning process, Cabinet can add them to the list of legislation that need not apply to an Open for Business Bylaw. Amendments need not pass through the legislature.

How does this impact Ontario? The Environmental Law Association in their analysis of Bill 66 and in particular Schedule 10 explain that in the current Planning Act Subsection 3(5) there are specific policies related to (among other things) density, compatibility, affordable housing, active transportation, stormwater management and low impact development, green infrastructure, natural heritage and water features protection, climate resiliency and natural and human-made hazards. Under Schedule 10 of the proposed bill all of these existing requirements could be ignored in an Open for Business bylaw.

Please remove Schedule 10 from Omnibus Bill 66.

We are dealing with irreversible Climate Change. This Bill is devastating to the future of our province and our planet as it removes the environmental protection we desperately need to preserve the Greenbelt and our safe water as well as our green spaces across the province. We are leaving no future for our children and grandchildren with this legislation.