RE: Community Submission…

RE: Community Submission Opposing Bill 222 - Consequences of “Building Transit Faster”

We represent a community in Riverside and Leslieville in Toronto, directly impacted by Bill 171 - Building Transit Faster Act (2020). We are one of the first residential communities to feel the impact of expanded provincial powers around transit construction. Bill 222 expands the scope of Bill 171 to include the rest of the Province. We provide comments based on our lived experience of how the Province (via Metrolinx) has conducted itself as it relates to the planning of the Ontario Line.

The current Progressive Conservative government has run roughshod over local residents and businesses concerns. It has sidestepped environmental and safety standards, and its “cost savings measures” have resulted in a proposal that would see a portion of the Ontario Line above ground in Riverside/Leslieville (south of Gerrard to the Don River) with serious health and environmental impact on local communities.

We trust our submission sheds light on dangers of granting sweeping powers without checks and balances. Our Riverside/Leslieville community will be devastated by this transit project for generations to come. We demand policymakers vote against the implementation of Bill 222. We hope no other community in Ontario suffers our fate at the hands of this government.

In the attached submission, we summarize our experience below in three broad themes. These critical issues need to be addressed immediately. We strongly urge policymakers not to fund the Ontario Line project or award any contracts until our concerns have been addressed. We believe the current proposal contravenes health and environmental regulations and standards including:
• Metrolinx’s Noise Protocol
• Ontario Ministry of Environment’s noise and air quality criteria
• Health Canada Guidelines (Health Impact Assessment and Evaluating Human Health Impacts in Environmental Assessment)
• Industry standards endorsed by Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and Railway Association of Canada (RAC)
• Environmental standards and noise guidelines of World Health Organization

We will continue to work with appropriate authorities and government agencies to advocate for a sustainable transit construction that respects environmental standards and that safeguards the health and well-being of ALL constituencies in the GTA.

Save Jimmie Simpson & Lakeshore East Community Advisory Committee