[All] Fw: Heard back about the Duffins Creek destruction?

Fri Nov 6 21:14:15 EST 2020

Municipal positions regarding Dufferin Creek and Ford Government bypassing local permissions and EAs. 

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   ----- Forwarded message ----- From: "Tim Gray" <engagement at environmentaldefence.ca> To: "water.lulu at yahoo.ca" <water.lulu at yahoo.ca> Cc:  Sent: Fri., 6 Nov. 2020 at 4:42 p.m. Subject: Heard back about the Duffins Creek destruction?   
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We fact-checked MPP responses
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Hi Louisette,

The campaign to protect Duffins Creek wetlands is working, but the fight’s not over yet. 

Some of you have shared the responses you received from the mayor of Pickering and your local MPP about the Duffins Creek project with me. I have also received similar responses so I decided to fact-check these misleading claims. 

The public's resistance to this project is loud and clear. We need to continue to mount the pressure. If and when your MPP replies to your letter, please feel free to remind them why destroying important wetlands is not in anyone’s best interest and use the facts I provided below to rebut their arguments/comments.

The following quotes are taken from letters from Peter Bethlenfalvy MPP, and Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan:

“Every single Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) issued by the Minister on non-provincially owned land has been at the request of the local municipalities.”

By all accounts this is not true. The Ontario government has repeatedly approached municipalities asking them to consider supporting MZOs that have been proposed by developers.

In Toronto, an MZO was issued that actually caught the mayor by surprise. Media also reported that the Mayor of New Tecumseth, Rick Milne, said the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing pressured the town council to make a decision about a development proposal in Beeton, and that he feared the province would use an MZO if he opposed the development.

“Our government’s commitment to the Greenbelt has not changed – the Minister is not prepared to consider any requests for a Minister’s Zoning Order for development within the Greenbelt. “

True, but they are approving MZOs that will destroy other provincially protected sites such as wetlands. Duffins Creek may not be in the Greenbelt, but it still has legal protection as an important ecological site.

“As the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station is winding down its operations and General Motors has terminated its auto production in Oshawa, these new jobs are critically important for Durham Region’s recovery… This project is expected to create more than 10,000 new jobs.”

This is highly misleading. The casino, retail and residential development are outside of the wetland, so the only businesses to be placed squarely on the wetland will be the warehouses. It is pure fantasy to say that these warehouses will employ 10,000 people - and certainly not nuclear engineers and skilled automotive plant workers.

Even if it were the case, there are vacant and underutilized employment lands zoned for warehouses within a kilometer of the wetland that would be suitable. The wetland does not need to be destroyed.

“The lands that have been earmarked for this investment are on the western edge of the Durham Live site and are functionally disconnected from the Lower Duffins Creek valley. Duffins Creek does not run through these lands and there are no established hiking trails.”

This statement is categorically false. The wetland is hydrologically connected to the entire complex as described in its evaluation documentation. The ecological value is not diminished because it does not contain hiking trails.

“A recent ecological study on these lands indicate that these wetlands generally provide limited ecological functions for flora, fish, and wildlife. This area is bordered by Highway 401 and Bayly Street, and is surrounded by industrial and commercial uses that combined with the presence of invasive plant life have contributed to an ongoing decline in the wetland.”

This study was conducted by the developer’s consultant. This wetland has been recognized for its significance for almost 20 years, and the fact that previous planning decisions have permitted encroachment on the wetland does not diminish its importance, nor do the presence of invasive species.

This wetland makes up over 50% of the entire Lower Duffins Creek Wetland Complex. It is an important area for birds migrating across the lake, water cleansing and infiltration and as habitat for reptiles, amphibians and other wildlife.

"The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) and the developer have signed an agreement that would lead to the creation of ecological benefits that meet or exceed any loss to the natural system, following an assessment."

This is also not true. The TRCA has passed a motion opposing the destruction of the wetland and has not signed an agreement to destroy it, or try to offset its destruction. More importantly, it is simply not possible to artifically recreate an organic soil swamp forest wetland such as this one.

Louisette, Lower Duffins Creek wetland is one of the largest remaining provincially significant wetlands in southern Ontario, and it needs to be protected.  Paving over this land will not bring 10,000 jobs to Pickering. Instead, it will increase flood risk, impact local ecosystems and set a dangerous precedent for the destruction of protected lands by profit-hungry developers.  It’s vital that the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority says NO to destroying the wetland.

You can still help save Duffins Creek. Use these facts to reply to your MPP or the Mayor of Pickering and let them know we’re not backing down.

In gratitude,
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Tim Gray
 Executive Director

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 Environmental Defence Canada
 116 Spadina Avenue, Suite 300, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2K6

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