I am speaking up to support…

I am speaking up to support our bold and visionary Regional Official Plan that continues our current success and trajectory with sustainable, complete 15-minute walkable communities, more active transit, more public transit including Phase 2 and Phase 3 of iON LRT, more housing choice, more housing affordability, and better protection of farmland, groundwater, and green space.

We take so much for granted here in Waterloo Region and I understand that with Bill #23 the province has already decimated Regional Planning and removed planning authority from the Region of Waterloo that has been responsible for so much of our collaborative success. All of our regional designations and environmental protections are in serious jeopardy be it the Countryside Line, the Protected Countryside, our Environmentally Sensitive Landscape (ESL) areas, our ESPA areas, and even Source Water Protection Areas. Worse yet, the Grand River Conservation Authority no longer can provide the protection, services, or oversight we have counted on for decades and late on December 23rd just before Christmas the province removed protections on almost all local wetlands and floodplains.

The pending destruction and long-term consequences are almost unfathomable. We need to be doing everything that we can to ensure that our world-leading planning in our visionary 30-year Regional Official Plan is approved in a manner that continues our Smart Growth and current success balancing growth with strong farmland, water, and environmental protection. We certainly don’t want to see thousands of acres of totally unnecessary urban sprawl and the destruction of our local farms being forced onto our Region and local municipalities.

I am therefore urging Minister Clark to approve our Waterloo Region ROP without any changes. We need to see it approved intact as it was overwhelmingly approved by all our area municipalities and Regional government this past summer.

Thank you.