[All] Thursday Update and Tomorrow's Zoom Call for Mobilizing Against Bill 23 (Waterloo-Wellington and Brant)

Fri Dec 2 02:28:28 EST 2022

Good evening,

Thanks everyone for joining the call last Friday evening. Kevin's continues to be away so I'm providing you with an update for the state of affairs in the last week. 

But first, a reminder to please join us for our weekly Zoom call tomorrow (Friday) at 5:30pm for 35 to 40 minutes. 

Here is the link: - Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

It has been a busy week with protests across the province and tons of media coverage against Bill 23, the Greenbelt attacks and the destruction of rigorous local and regional planning. And I think you will agree with me that overall the skepticism and awareness is increasing of the land grab the will reward a few select developers at the expense of the things we Ontarians care about. 

1) First the predictable news - Bill 23

Yes - as predicted during our last call and as you are aware: Bill 23 was rammed through the legislature. 

To recap what we covered:

 1) Municipalities across Ontario are standing up to Bill 23 - not only asking for more time but coming out against the bill while also releasing some staggering cost estimates of how negatively it could impact their respective budgets.  I have yet to see any municipality come out in favour of Bill 23.  It will be interesting to see if Doug Ford chooses his developer buddies over every elected municipal official in the province.

2) Bill 23 Committee Adjustments - it seems that there were astoundingly few updates or adjustments made to Bill 23 in Committee and the Conservatives adjourned the meetings 3 hours ahead of schedule to start their weekend early.  One somewhat positive news was the admission that Green Development Standards may be less impacted than originally thought though the Conservatives have made it clear they plan to bring in their own Green Standards which given their environmental track record to date is very troubling news.

But the backlash continues and many municipalities are just starting to understand the impact that it will have on their ability to pay for development while residents continue to speak out on the impact to the environment, heritage and rental housing stock. 

I think we're just seeing municipalities starting to mobilize against Bill 32. For instance, the City of Mississauga sent out the following postcard to all its residents:

We're also observing what I would call an increasing deterioration of provincial-municipal relationships as evidenced by this communication from the Minister of Municipal Affairs to AMO:

MMAH LTR AP Response to Bill 23 Comments 2022-11-30.pdf (amo.on.ca) 

Essential the letter says we are going to give you more time to respond to decreases in DCs due to Bill 109 but we're also triggering audits of municipal financing because municipalities are hoarding huge amounts in your DC and parkland reserves.  And if you've got a funding shortfall, well just reach out to the Feds as we're not going to help you. 

2) December 3rd and 4th Weekend of Action - There are many dozens of protests, rally’s, literature drops, petition signings and other events being planned for this coming weekend around Ontario.

There will be an unprecedented seven rallies in Wellington, Waterloo and Brant areas this coming weekend. See list below and I'm attaching the posters for each rally so please share today through your networks. 
During the call, we will be connecting with each rally captain to ensure they have everything they need for a successful rally. 

The Rallies are; 

Saturday, December 3rd:
Cambridge Pop-Up Rally
MPP Brian Riddell's Riding
Noon
Meet at Cambridge City Hall (50 Dickson St.)

Saturday, December 3rd:
Brantford Pop-Up Rally
MPP Will Bouma's Riding
2pm
Meet at Harmony Square

Saturday, December 3rd:
Elmira Canvas (Please note: not a Rally!) 
MPP Mike Harris Jr. 
10am to Noon
Meet at Elmira Public Library, 65 Arthur St. S.

Sunday, December 4th: 
Guelph Pop-Up Rally
11am
Meet at Boathouse/Lawn Bowling Parking Lot

Sunday, December 4th: 
Kitchener Pop-Up Rally
MPP Jess Dixon's Riding 
1pm
Meet at Corner of Pioneer Dr. & Homer Watson

Sunday, December 4th: 
Elora Pop-Up Rally 
1pm
MPP Ted Arnott's Riding
Meet at Cenotaph Parkette 
(Geddes & Metcalfe Streets)

Sunday, December 4th: 
Eden Mills Pop-Up Rally and Parade
3pm
MPP Ted Arnott's Riding
Meet in front of the Community Hall
(104 York St, Eden Mills)
Bring an instrument, or noisemaker, and wear something green (perhaps a green belt!)

We hope that you can have fun making some creative signs and then join us for as many of these events as possible.  It is incredible to see the momentum and activity building across Ontario.

3) Media coverage - it’s great to see so much coverage continuing in all the newspapers.  Please keep writing Letters to the Editor and Op-Ed pieces as they can really help to inform the public.

There's been a tonne of more articles and this is just a short slice of them:

Doug Ford’s Greenbelt land swap hits home for town of Erin | The Star - check it out, our own Kevin Thomason was quoted! 

‘Yes or no?’: Housing minister pressed to say whether developers were tipped to Greenbelt changes | The Star

Integrity commissioner asked to investigate Ford’s Greenbelt development plan | The Star

Globe editorial: Troubling questions about Doug Ford’s move into the Greenbelt - The Globe and Mail

Developers who bought Ontario Greenbelt land linked to Ford government - The Globe and Mail

Also c/o Mike Darmon: the Narwhal on the auditor General report on Fords Greed Development, and the real costs of the Bradford Bypass and the 413 Highway. https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-auditor-general-environment-2022/

It has been nice to see Margaret Atwood start speaking out against Bill 23 and Doug Ford - below are links to her first three articles in what she is promising is going to be an ongoing series:

Margaret Atwood - https://open.substack.com/pub/margaretatwood/p/premier-ford-this-is-for-your-own?

- https://open.substack.com/pub/margaretatwood/p/the-peasants-are-revolting?

- King John: A Bad Luck Name in Kings - by Margaret Atwood (substack.com)

4) Radio Ads - good progress continue to happen with our radio ad production as copy is being finalized, radio airtime purchases completed and recording hopefully starting early this coming week with ads airing before the weekend.  Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far and please direct others to the fundraising site where all our donations are being doubled by the Small Change Fund:

	https://smallchangefund.ca/project/protect-the-greenbelt-and-visionary-regional-planning-in-the-grand-river-watershed/

5) Let's Talk about Bill 39

Bill 39 will likely pass third reading in the legislature and we are looking for you help! 

The details for Bill 39 can be found here: Bill 39, Better Municipal Governance Act, 2022 - Legislative Assembly of Ontario (ola.org). Its another Omnibus bill that includes: 

More ways to undermine the Greenbelt here:
-SCHEDULE 2
DUFFINS ROUGE AGRICULTURAL PRESERVE REPEAL ACT, 2022

And legitimizes the Strong Mayor system where for specific provincial "priorities", the head of Council only requires 1/3 of the vote: 

A new section 284.11.1 of the Act provides that if a head of council of a designated municipality is of the opinion that a by-law could potentially advance a prescribed provincial priority, the head of council may propose the by-law and require the council to consider and vote on the proposed by-law at a meeting. The by-law is passed if more than one third of the members of council vote in favour of the by-law.

6) Don't forget about the ERO Posting for the Greenbelt regulatory change: it close on Sunday, December 4th: Proposed Amendments to the Greenbelt Plan | Environmental Registry of Ontario

Thanks for all the great efforts so far!  Please share any questions or ideas.

Cheers,

Mike Marcolongo and Kevin Thomason on behalf of all our community groups speaking up.

——————————————-

Speak Up and Ensure Your Voice is Heard:

Premier Doug Ford - doug.fordco at pc.ola.org or 416-325-1941
Steve Clark - Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing - steve.clark at pc.ola.org or 416-585-7214
David Piccini - Minster of Environment, Conservation and Parks - david.piccini at pc.ola.org or 905-372-4000
Todd Smith - Minister of Energy - todd.smith at pc.ola.org or 613-962-1144
Michael Parsa - Associate Minister of Housing - michael.parsaco at pc.ola.org

Local Conservative MPPs:
Mike Harris Jr - MPP Kitchener-Conestoga - mike.harris at pc.ola.org or 519-669-2090
Brian Riddell - MPP Cambridge - brian.riddell at pc.ola.org or 519-650-2770
Jess Dixon - MPP Kitchener South - jess.dixon at pc.ola.org or 519-650-9413

Local NDP MPPs:
Catherine Fife - MPP Waterloo - cfife-qp at ndp.on.ca or 519-725-3477
Laura Mae Lindo - MPP Kitchener Centre - llindo-qp at ndp.on.ca or 519-579-5460

Or use the Hold The Line Waterloo Region engagement engine to automatically address and send an e-mail you help to draft: www.holdthelinewr.org

------------------------------------------
Resources:

	-  50x30WR Website Listing Resources - https://www.50by30wr.ca/events

	- Olde Berlin Town Website Listing Resources - https://oldeberlintown.ca/information-about-proposed-bill-23/

	- Yours to Protect Resources - Hands Off The Greenbelt Digital Materials – Yours To Protect

Hands Off The Greenbelt Digital Materials – Yours To Protect

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