Mondelez Canada is a major…

Mondelez Canada is a major employer, employing over 2,500 people across five manufacturing sites and two distribution facilities in Ontario. Mondelez Canada has invested more than $250 million into its urban-based factories in the last few years alone – improving productivity and competitiveness and helping to create and retain jobs in the Province.

Preserving employment areas is of critical importance if the Province is to remain economically vital and competitive. While we understand the urgency of building more housing in the Province, we are concerned about residential projects that may intrude on employment areas that have established manufacturing and/or industrial operations. This will certainly lead to conflicts between manufacturers, as key employers in the Province, with those residential projects on issues such as odour, noise and air quality. These conflicts can ultimately affect the continued ability of those manufacturers to operate.

In this context, we have serious concerns about the implications of Bill 185 which proposes to remove the right of third parties to appeal land use planning decisions. Removing third party appeal rights will have negative impacts on the continued viability of employment and potentially have a negative impact on thousands of workers in Ontario.

Removing the ability of industrial operators like Mondelez Canada to appeal planning approvals for sensitive development near their facilities means operators will be left with no means of protecting the continued viability of its operations. The introduction of new sensitive land uses close to industrial facilities could result in the potential outcome that a facility that has operated in compliance with law for decades could suddenly be out of compliance with law because of the change of use on a nearby property. Industrial facilities may be forced to spend millions of dollars to mitigate impacts resulting from nearby sensitive development or risk being forced to shut down and relocate.

Mondelez Canada understands and supports the Government’s goal to build more housing faster. However, achieving that goal at the expense of existing industry will have serious and long-term repercussions for the economy and workers in the Province.

Accordingly, Mondelez Canada asks that the proposed Planning Act amendments be revisited to ensure that third party appeals remain available to address concerns about land use compatibility or that the definition of “specified person” be amended (as outlined in the letter). Mondelez Canada trusts that the amendments can be redrafted in a way that will continue to achieve the Government’s housing goals while not putting employment and manufacturing in Ontario at risk.

We thank you in advance for your consideration.