Sierra Club Ontario - Peel…

Sierra Club Ontario - Peel Group submission to EBR registry re Bill 66
I am writing this submission as Director of Sierra Club Ontario - Peel Group.
Ours is an active group of volunteers that has been engaging and empowering citizens in environmental stewardship since 2004. Ontario's Greenbelt, forests, watersheds, and natural areas are vital to our health. Our agricultural lands are essential for our food security. Good water quality and quantity are an absolute necessity. An open-for-business policy must ensure these basics are protected by law.
We do not support the proposed amendments to the Planning Act, specifically, adding a new section 34.1 which would allow local municipalities to pass “open-for-business” planning by-laws that could bypass the Clean Water Act 2006, Great Lakes Protection Act 2015, Greenbelt Act 2005, Lake Simcoe Protection Act 2008, Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act 2001, Places to Grow Act 2005, or the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act 2016. We do not support the cancellation of the Toxics Reduction Act 2009 or the removal of the toxics reduction plan.
An "open-for-business" policy must engage all stakeholders in consultation to ensure changes do not put people, property or our natural environment at risk. The province should pursue ongoing consultation with Conservation Authorities and Municipalities to effect any necessary changes.
Economic development projects should occur within settlement areas where water/wastewater, transportation, and communication infrastructure are well established. Within the current boundaries of urban expansion, as allowed by the existing Places to Grow Act, there is plenty of opportunity for development and densification.
Urban sprawl is costly and inefficient, wastes energy, spreads air pollution and is detrimental to our health and the health of our natural environment. Economic opportunities outside urban boundaries are readily available in Agriculture, Conservation, Sustainable Energy, Heritage and Tourism and can be designed to support local communities and enhance the health and long term sustainability of our natural environment.
Schedule 10 of Bill 66 is not in the public interest and does not adequately safeguard the health and safety of the people of Ontario. If Ontario is to be open for business, we should proceed with smart growth that provides a healthy balance between environmental and economic needs, and that respects, and protects in law, all Ontario communities and our natural environment.