[All] Bill 23, Greenbelt, and Regional Planning Update - Sunday Dec 11th

Sun Dec 11 20:22:20 EST 2022

Thanks to everyone who joined our update Zoom call on Friday at 5:30pm.  It’s fantastic to hear about so many activities across our region and province against Bill 23, standing up for the Greenbelt, and fighting the decimation of Regional Planning.

It was good to hear from Mike Marcolongo about Bill 39, recent media coverage, all the rallies across Ontario, and upcoming events including:

1) City of Waterloo Staff Report on Bill 23 - there is an excellent Staff Report coming to the City of Waterloo Council on Monday December 12th about the anticipated impacts and costs of Bill 23 including a 10 point adaptation plan.  I encourage people to delegate at the meeting and reach out to Staff/Council to show our support.  The City of Waterloo continues to be leader on speaking up and expressing concerns about these actions of the provincial government.  The Council Agenda and Staff Report are attached below or online you can find the 10-point Adaptation Plan to the Bill here <https://events.waterloo.ca/meetings/Detail/2022-12-12-1400-Council-Meeting/a65fe422-4f0a-439d-929d-af6600f44cff>.

2) City of Kitchener Motions and Staff Report on Bill 23 - There is not one but two motions against Bill 23 coming before Kitchener City Council on Monday in addition to a Staff Report about the long-term impacts of these provincial actions.  We need to show support for these motions and report.  Please delegate and/or reach out to Councillors if you can.  The Council Agenda, Motions, and Staff Report are attached below and can also can be found here <https://pub-kitchener.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=7470>. 

Depending on the City in which you reside, please consider delegating for 5 minutes via Zoom or in person in support of efforts by our municipal leaders to address the significant impacts of Bill 23. 

To register for Kitchener City Council, fill out the form here <https://form.kitchener.ca/COR/LEG/Delegation-form>; further details on how to delegate and staff contacts can be found here <https://www.kitchener.ca/en/council-and-city-administration/appear-as-a-delegation.aspx#staff-contacts>. You can also choose simply to watch the proceedings which will be livestreamed by visiting www.kitchener.ca/watchnow <http://www.kitchener.ca/watchnow>.

To register for Waterloo City Council, check guidelines for speaking at council <https://forms.waterloo.ca/Legislative-Services/Delegation-Registration?_ga=2.110701637.138314773.1670634972-229540377.1670634972> and steps to register as a delegation. You can view livestreams of Waterloo City Council meetings here <https://www.waterloo.ca/en/government/council-meetings.aspx>.

There are likely reports and motions coming before other Grand River Watershed Municipalities as well.  Please check with your local municipality and share any information you learn.

3) Events - Rally's continue across the province with events in London, Muskoka, Belleville, Milton, Niagara Falls and Woodbridge this past weekend.  There is interest in hosting more rally’s here in the Grand River Watershed.  Please let me know if you would be able to help organize a PopUp Rally, canvassing, petition signing, or other event.

4) Strong Media Coverage - continues with articles this weekend including:

City News - Ontario "More Homes, Built Faster Act" more likely to do the opposite: Eby - https://kitchener.citynews.ca/local-news/ontarios-more-homes-built-faster-act-more-likely-to-do-the-opposite-eby-6219303 <https://kitchener.citynews.ca/local-news/ontarios-more-homes-built-faster-act-more-likely-to-do-the-opposite-eby-6219303>

	The Record - How Far Are Ontarians Willing To Go To Protect the Greenbelt - https://www.therecord.com/ts/opinion/contributors/2022/12/11/how-far-are-ontarians-willing-to-go-to-protect-the-greenbelt.html

	CBC - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/bill-23-protests-law-ontario-ottawa-housing-1.6677417 which included this fantastic quote from a broad consortium of Professional Architects -  "We firmly believe that this legislation will not achieve its stated intent," the architects wrote in the letter, which was posted Nov. 25.  "Instead, it will inhibit the construction of affordable housing in our province; dismantle regional planning and urban design considerations; undermine heritage protection, environmental protection, and climate change mitigation; and limit public participation in how we build our communities."

5) Overview - Environmental Defence has released an excellent article providing an overview many of the recent changes by the provincial government:

https://environmentaldefence.ca/2022/12/09/important-things-you-should-know-about-the-ontario-governments-six-major-recent-attacks-on-farms-forests-wetlands-and-livable-communities/

6) Lawn Signs - having distributed more than 3,000 signs we now have yet another 1,000 on order that should be available starting later this week.  Please reach out to Mike Marcolongo or any of our sign captains for more information.

	Guelph Downtown - Anne Moore - amoore083 at gmail.com <mailto:amoore083 at gmail.com>
	Guelph South - Al Dejong - albert1dejong at gmail.com <mailto:albert1dejong at gmail.com>
	Centre Wellington  - Peter Varty - pjvarty at gmail.com <mailto:pjvarty at gmail.com>
	Brantford - Joan Faux - mom2jnp at gmail.com <mailto:mom2jnp at gmail.com>
	Cambridge - Jenna Quinn - jenna.quinn at raresites.org <mailto:jenna.quinn at raresites.org>
	Glen Morris - Jeff Leader - geosynergy at yahoo.com <mailto:geosynergy at yahoo.com> 
	Kitchener - Cathy Scott - cathy.scottfree at gmail.com <mailto:cathy.scottfree at gmail.com>
	Waterloo - David Lubell - dlubell at bell.net <mailto:dlubell at bell.net>
	Elmira - Sandra Bray - sandra at sandrabray.ca <mailto:sandra at sandrabray.ca>
	Wilmot - Dorothy Wilson - ah_wilson at sympatico.ca <mailto:ah_wilson at sympatico.ca>
        Wellesley - Linda Lackey - lindamclackey at gmail.com <mailto:lindamclackey at gmail.com>

7) Radio Ads - Our radio team continues to work hard with 5 different ads currently airing on CHYM 96.7, 570 News, and other area stations.  Planning is underway to buy airtime and add additional stations including campus and community radio stations in the days ahead.  There is also a 1 hour radio show on Bill 23 being planned for Monday, December 19th at 11:00am on CKMS that may air on other area stations too.

8) Alliance for a Liveable Ontario - ALO - Every local group and individual is encouraged to join the Alliance for a Liveable Ontario, a big tent initiative to bring a wide variety of people and groups across Ontario together to fight Bill 23 and create the liveable communities we need over the long term.  It is an impressive provincial collaborative that is coming together.

Learn more and sign up at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfHngEQ_HTlayZ-kbdOinbBWX4tdK8EvcUD0Oq0QOmreXveog/viewform <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfHngEQ_HTlayZ-kbdOinbBWX4tdK8EvcUD0Oq0QOmreXveog/viewform>

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

Cheers,
Kevin Thomason and Mike Marcolongo on behalf of all our community groups.

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Upcoming Events

Wednesday, January 4th - 11:59pm - Deadline for submissions to the Environmental Registry of Ontario for Region of Waterloo and Wellington County Official Plans:
	Region of Waterloo - https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-5952 <https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-5952>
	County of Wellington - https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-5635 <https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-5635>

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1) City of Waterloo Staff Report on Bill 23

2) City of Kitchener Motions and Staff Report on Bill 23 

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Speak Up and Ensure Your Voice is Heard:

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

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

Local NDP MPPs:
Catherine Fife - MPP Waterloo - cfife-qp at ndp.on.ca <mailto:cfife-qp at ndp.on.ca> or 519-725-3477
Laura Mae Lindo - MPP Kitchener Centre - llindo-qp at ndp.on.ca <mailto: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 <http://www.holdthelinewr.org/>

-------------------------------------

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 <mailto:kevinthomason at mac.com>

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