[All] GREN Update on Bill 66 & Actions You Can Help to Undertake
Kevin Thomason
kevinthomason at mac.com
Wed Jan 2 19:06:27 EST 2019
Good Day GREN folks;
Things continue to move forward in the efforts to ensure our essential local protections aren’t at risk from Bill 66. At the meeting of community groups held just before Christmas it was fantastic to see more than 60 delegates from dozens of different community groups come together to see how we can defeat this awful Bill - in particular Section 10 that threatens so much.
There will be another planning meeting Thursday night at CIGI at 7:00pm and we are hoping to finalize delegations to every local municipal Council, Region of Waterloo Council, and local MPP in the next couple of weeks regarding concerns with Bill 66. Please feel free to attend Thursday evening if you would like to help with any of these presentations/meetings (information below).
The final details and poster for the January 15th community event featuring Environmental Commissioner Dianne Saxe have been completed. You will see that GREN is one of the sponsors and organizers of the event. I’ve attached a copy of the poster below - please share and promote it with your networks so that we can ensure a strong turnout from across our community at the event. Please also remember to register for free at Eventbrite.
In the meantime, we can all continue to take action against Bill 66. I have attached some excellent talking points courtesy of the Blue Dot folks below.
Please undertake the following actions if at all possible:
1) E-mail your MPP, regional councillor and municipal councillor (use the handy form the Hold The Line folks have created for local politicians):
http://act.holdthelinewr.org <http://act.holdthelinewr.org/>
https://www.ola.org/en/members/current/contact-information <https://www.ola.org/en/members/current/contact-information>
2) Call your MPP, regional councillor, and municipal councillor (see talking points below)
3) Meet with your MPP, regional councillor, and municipal councillor (see talking points below)
4) Write a letter to the editor to your local newspaper (see talking points for ideas)
5) Ensure that you make an official comment about your concerns with Bill 66 on the Environmental Registry of Ontario:
https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/013-4293 <https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/013-4293>
6) Use provincial tools such as those created by Ontario Nature and Environmental Defence to write the Premier and Ministers:
https://act.environmentaldefence.ca/page/35250/action/1 <https://act.environmentaldefence.ca/page/35250/action/1>
https://ontarionature.good.do/schedule10/sign/ <https://ontarionature.good.do/schedule10/sign/>
7) Save the dates - Thursday, January 3rd, 7:00pm CIGI Room A-142 - Second Community Delegate Meeting to Plan Bill 66 Response
- Saturday, January 12th, 10:00am - Ajax, Ontario - Bill 66 Alliance meeting with campaign and protest training, lawn sign distribution and a rally afterwards
- Tuesday, January 15th, 7:00pm - Kitchener City Hall - Dianne Saxe community discussion event co-sponsored by GREN
The momentum continues to build against Bill 66. Lets do everything that we can to ensure a very strong local community response.
Please share any questions or ideas.
Thanks,
Kevin.
P.S. For those interested in what other organizations across the province are doing against Bill 66 I’ve attached an excellent e-mail below from the Ontario Headwaters Institute.
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From: Kevin Thomason <kevinthomason at mac.com>
Subject: Reminder: Bill 66 Community Group Meeting Thurs, Jan 3rd 7:00pm at CIGI
Date: December 31, 2018 at 2:37:31 PM EST
Happy New Year!
While the holidays have been a wonderful break from Bill 66, we don’t have much time to send a strong, clear message to Premier Ford about our concerns this Bill could have on our community, farmland, green space, and natural resources.
I’d like to remind you of the upcoming meeting this Thursday at the same room at CIGI as our initial community meeting. Details are as follows:
Date: Thursday, January 3, 2019
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Room A142, CIGI - Centre for International Governance and Innovation - 67 Erb Street West, Waterloo
Access: Through main West doors (facing Erb St) near Caroline St. Intersection
A tentative agenda for the meeting is as follows:
- update/status of groups working to book Council delegation appearances at municipal and regional councils
- update/status of groups working to book MPP meetings in local ridings
- time for groups to meet in breakout sessions and figure out next steps/activities
- planning/discussion of January 12th Bill 66 training event/protest in Ajax
- planning/preparations for January 15th event at Kitchener City Hall with ECO Dianne Saxe and other speakers
- other business
We had a tremendous turnout at our initial meeting and It will be important to have at least one delegate from each community group at this next meeting to help ensure a strong, co-ordinated response to Bill 66.
Please share any questions or ideas and I hope to see you on Thursday evening.
Cheers,
Kevin.
P.S. I’ve attached a draft Citizens Toolkit for Bill 66 that is coming together as groups across the province aggregate their materials and efforts. It is evolving daily and contains some good background and supporting material against Bill 66:
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Talking Points for MPP’s, Regional and Local Councillors:
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Recent Media Articles and Background:
https://www.newhamburgindependent.ca/news-story/9089525-local-groups-asking-municipalities-to-reject-bill-66/ <https://www.newhamburgindependent.ca/news-story/9089525-local-groups-asking-municipalities-to-reject-bill-66/>
https://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/9085229-increasing-the-risk-of-another-walkerton/ <https://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/9085229-increasing-the-risk-of-another-walkerton/>
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2018/12/07/ontario-tories-bill-to-supposedly-cut-red-tape-will-put-lives-at-risk.html <https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2018/12/07/ontario-tories-bill-to-supposedly-cut-red-tape-will-put-lives-at-risk.html>
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2018/12/10/developing-the-greenbelt-a-disaster-on-multiple-levels.html <https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2018/12/10/developing-the-greenbelt-a-disaster-on-multiple-levels.html>
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Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) Legal Analysis of Bill 66
http://www.cela.ca/sites/cela.ca/files/1230-AnnotatedExcerpts.pdf <http://www.cela.ca/sites/cela.ca/files/1230-AnnotatedExcerpts.pdf>
https://www.cela.ca/blog/2018-12-07/deregulation-redux-Ont-envl-laws-under-attack-again <https://www.cela.ca/blog/2018-12-07/deregulation-redux-Ont-envl-laws-under-attack-again>
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Happy New Year Everyone,
2018 has given us a lot to reflect upon, and to ponder how to make the world a better place.
The current US President has demonstrated what failed leadership looks like. He continues to campaign rather than to govern; caters to a narrow demographic rather than the broader welfare; and demonstrates personal insecurity with summary rejections of differing perspectives, often while insulting others. Analogies in Canada are emerging, to the detriment of our tradition of working toward consensus.
This has been evolving for a while. Leaders, whether national, provincial, or in the environmental arena, need to provide a big tent under which most people can find comfort, those who wish can fill a role. Followers are little different, but owe themselves and society authentic acts of goodwill that balance their tacks with prevailing winds.
Ignoring for now any soapbox suggestions on whether or not the current provincial government is still campaigning or starting to govern, allow me to share some personal observations about leadership and followership in the environmental community.
We are an unruly community. Sometimes, we expect too much of the bigger organizations, as if they should bend over backwards to somehow include the smaller ones, and/or that they jeopardize their funding by speaking truth to power in more direct ways. And while smaller organizations can sometimes really deliver on that, and can rally local communities, it can be frustrating when they just don’t have the capacity to take on more or even just support a strategic effort.
But if there ever was a time to work together – it is now. In its Bill 57, the current government tabled almost universally-opposed changes to the Environmental Bill of Rights and the Environmental Commissioner. Less than four days after it allocated a whopping 6 hours of committee hearings on the 48 schedules in the bill, the government used its brute strength to not only pass the bill but to include a few mean-spirited amendments not previously circulated. And immediately after that, it introduced Bill 66 which, amongst other things, violates the Premier’s campaign promise to not allow development in the Greenbelt and curtails public engagement in municipal discussions regarding that expansion.
READ THAT AGAIN. After pledging to not develop the Greenbelt, the Premier seeks to delegate this power to municipalities, without a need for public input. In short, in Ontario the economy currently trumps the environment; being “open for business” trumps democracy; and the special interests who apparently had a strong hand in writing Bill 66 lay bare the pretense of a government “for the people”.
Fortunately, several leading Ontario environmental organizations are collaborating in the massive effort that will be required to derail the draconian elements of Bill 66. There is a legal analysis, petitions to sign, regional hubs being formed, and draft letters to MPPs and municipal councils.
We salute the leaders on this, and we hope to be an excellent follower. Yes, we will be trying to rally our BFFs in a watershed caucus against the bill, but we will be working within the OGA, the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance, where there will be greater collective resources and strength.
We urge all our sister environmental, agricultural, and community groups to be involved in the coming effort. Local outreach is needed. A clear voice is needed to talk with our local councils and MPPs. And if you are not already part of a larger alliance, consider lending your support. See, for example, item 6 in the links below.
Please join the effort against Bill 66.
Andrew McCammon
Executive Director
416 231 9484
Links
1. A summary of Bill 66 and information on the deadline for comments can be found on the Environmental Registry, here <https://www.ebr.gov.on.ca/ERS-WEB-External/displaynoticecontent.do?noticeId=MTM2NzI0&statusId=MjA4MzU1&language=en>;
2. The full draft of Bill 66 can be seen at https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-42/session-1/bill-66 <https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-42/session-1/bill-66>;
3. A FABULOUS legal analysis by CELA can be seen at https://www.cela.ca/sites/cela.ca/files/CELAlegalanalysis-Bill66andCWA.pdf <https://www.cela.ca/sites/cela.ca/files/CELAlegalanalysis-Bill66andCWA.pdf>;
4. There are a lot of blogs and petitions to help you voice your concern. One excellent petition that you can amend as desired is available through Ontario Nature, at https://ontarionature.good.do/schedule10/sign/ <https://ontarionature.good.do/schedule10/sign/>;
5. Another resource is http://stopbill66.ca <http://stopbill66.ca/>. That is currently hosted on the Environmental Defence website and contains just a petition, but it will become an independent website this week and numerous tools and resources will be added; and,
6. Please excuse the duplication of the e-mail below from the OGA if you’ve already received it. The OGA (see http://www.greenbeltalliance.ca <http://www.greenbeltalliance.ca/>) will be holding a meeting for members on Saturday January 12 in Ajax, and I’ve added in a few red bits below for clarity. If you aren’t currently affiliated with a larger organization, this might be a good time to consider joining the OGA.
From: The Ontario Greenbelt Alliance
Sent: December 29, 2018 7:27 PM
Subject: Re: Let's get together to stop Bill 66, January 12th.
As you prepare to usher in the New Year please take a moment to register for the January 12th Bill 66 organizing meeting in Ajax. ..... Ontario Greenbelt Alliance groups will be joined by local community groups, grassroots groups, conservation groups, water conservation groups and others to share tactics, network, and pick up lawn signs. The day-long meeting (9:30 – 3:00 pm) will begin with an overview of Bill 66 including legal analysis, a question and answer session, and overview of key messages. At 3 p.m. we are planning a field trip to Minister Rod Phillips Constituency Office a few blocks away in Ajax to ask him to Stop Bill 66. The event is at La Roya Banquet Hall in Ajax just a short walk from the Ajax Go station, at 185 Westney Road South, Ajax, Ontario, L1S 2C9.
To register for the meeting click here <https://act.environmentaldefence.ca/page/35964/petition/1> - https://act.environmentaldefence.ca/page/35964/petition/1
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Kevin Thomason
Vice-Chair, Grand River Environmental Network
Phone: (519) 888-0519
Mobile Phone/WhatsApp: (519) 240-1648
Twitter: @kthomason
E-mail: kevinthomason at mac.com
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