Climate Network Lanark…

Climate Network Lanark urgently requests that the Ontario Government withdraw Bill 23, The More Homes Built Faster Act, as it does not address the real housing issues in Lanark County and area, and, as it undermines the wetland evaluation system — an important tool in protecting and restoring wetlands.

• Replacing the Provincial Policy Statement, which currently requires natural heritage systems planning, would weaken protections for Ontario’s farmland and natural heritage, including Provincially Significant Wetlands, woodlands and wildlife habitat.

• The proposed changes to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System for identifying Provincially Significant Wetlands (PSWs) would result in very few wetlands being deemed provincially significant in the future. Specifically, species-at-risk and wetland complexes are key criterion in determining provincial significance and should not be removed from the evaluation process.

• Many if not most existing PSWs could lose that designation because of the proposed changes, and if so, would no longer benefit from the high level of protection that PSW designation currently provides.

• The proposed offsetting policy to compensate for the loss of wetlands, woodlands and other natural areas as a result of development is untenable. Offsetting involves extremely risky trade-offs, where existing natural areas are sacrificed on the premise that they can be recreated or restored elsewhere. The loss is certain, while timely compensation is anything but guaranteed. In fact, over 30 years of experience with wetland offsetting in the United States, Canada and elsewhere indicates that offsetting is seldom successful in fully compensating for the loss of wetland area, functions and values. The very possibility of offsetting is likely to push the flood gates of destruction wide open, especially since the proposal includes a “pay to slay” natural heritage compensation fund. Developers would be allowed to destroy wetlands, woodlands and other wildlife habitats as long as they pay into the fund.

• The proposed removal of provincial government oversight of the evaluation process would mean there is no central agency assigned to coordinate or approve evaluations or ensure that information on PSW designations is available to the public.