[All] Bill 23, Greenbelt, ROP Update - Friday

Fri Nov 18 15:16:07 EST 2022

Good day!

A reminder about our group Zoom call today (Friday) at 5:30pm.  Zoom link is as follows: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82644695701?pwd=bnRsUGtWSUcrRnFWR21uYVBISG9jZz09 <https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82644695701?pwd=bnRsUGtWSUcrRnFWR21uYVBISG9jZz09>

I still have lost my voice so while I will be on the call today, Mike Marcolongo from the amazing Greenbelt West Coalition will be leading the call and updating us on everything happening in our communities and elsewhere.

1) Today’s Media Coverage - lots of news coverage today as it seems that the media is really starting to grasp the significance and concern with everything that Doug Ford is proposing with Bill 23, the Greenbelt attack, and the destruction of Regional Planning.  Below are articles about our local PopUp Rally's, a great article questioning how changing regional government would ever lead to additional housing, a great article from area Mayors questioning Bill 23, and the City of Waterloo motion against Bill 23:

https://observerxtra.com/2022/11/17/greenbelt-supporters-protest-at-mpps-office/ <https://observerxtra.com/2022/11/17/greenbelt-supporters-protest-at-mpps-office/>

https://www.wellingtonadvertiser.com/local-residents-protest-bill-23-the-building-homes-fast-act/ <https://www.wellingtonadvertiser.com/local-residents-protest-bill-23-the-building-homes-fast-act/>

https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/opinion/2022/11/18/why-is-premier-ford-suggesting-that-municipal-reform-will-lead-to-more-housing-in-waterloo-region.html <https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/opinion/2022/11/18/why-is-premier-ford-suggesting-that-municipal-reform-will-lead-to-more-housing-in-waterloo-region.html>

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/cambridge-waterloo-kitchener-strong-mayor-reaction-1.6655638 <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/cambridge-waterloo-kitchener-strong-mayor-reaction-1.6655638>

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/bill-23-protest-hamilton-1.6639462 <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/bill-23-protest-hamilton-1.6639462>  (Evict Tenants Faster Act)

https://www.insauga.com/hundreds-in-hamilton-march-against-fords-wrecking-ball-bill-23/ <https://www.insauga.com/hundreds-in-hamilton-march-against-fords-wrecking-ball-bill-23/>

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-housing-inclusionary-zoning-bill-23-1.6639640 <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-housing-inclusionary-zoning-bill-23-1.6639640>

https://kitchener.citynews.ca/local-news/outgoing-waterloo-council-passes-motion-asking-province-to-hold-off-on-bill-23-6120474 <https://kitchener.citynews.ca/local-news/outgoing-waterloo-council-passes-motion-asking-province-to-hold-off-on-bill-23-6120474>

2) Provincial Submission - Building upon recent submissions and our Regional Official Plan efforts, Kevin Eby, Mark Reusser, and myself have drafted the attached extensive document about Bill 23, questioning the 1.5 million home provincial target, and what could best address any housing shortfalls.  It is an easy to read overview of the current situation that comes to simple conclusions about the province’s misguided actions and what really needs to be done.  Please let us know any questions and please feel free to share it widely.

3) Association of Municipalities of Ontario - the AMO also has created an excellent letter to the province that is very direct and clear:

3) Lawn Signs - the signs are almost ready.  Look to updates from Mike Marcolongo on the Zoom call today on how to get your sign and how you can help to get hundreds of them around our communities.

4) Radio Ads - Fundraising continues to grow for our radio ads and lawn signs with over $3,500 already raised that will be matched by the Small Change Fund giving us a budget of at least $7,000 to work with.  Please donate online as soon as possible so we know what sort of total we have to work with for our airtime purchase and also if we should be printing more signs.  https://smallchangefund.ca/project/protect-the-greenbelt-and-visionary-regional-planning-in-the-grand-river-watershed/ <https://smallchangefund.ca/project/protect-the-greenbelt-and-visionary-regional-planning-in-the-grand-river-watershed/>

5) Awareness - keep raising awareness about Bill 23 and the harm it stands to do to our communities by e-mailing others, and posting on social media.  Also, please use the easy online tools to create customized e-mails to the Premier, Cabinet, local MPPs and Regional Officials.  
	- For Region of Waterloo Residents concerned about Regional Planning changes and the destruction of our Regional Official Plan please visit www.holdthelinewr.org <http://www.holdthelinewr.org/>.
	- For residents in Guelph, Brantford and other parts of the Grand River Watershed more focussed on the Bill 23 and the Greenbelt please visit - https://www.wellingtonwaterwatchers.ca/take_action_on_bill_23? <https://www.wellingtonwaterwatchers.ca/take_action_on_bill_23?>

Please share any questions or ideas and lets keep up the great work!

Cheers,
Kevin.

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1) One-Pager/E-mail Versions - select your favourite, customize as you like and send to everyone in your address book you think should be aware of Bill 23.

a) Conversational Style Version

Do you like living in Waterloo Region?

If you do, then please help us keep it a great place to live.  Doug Ford wants to destroy the collaborative barn-raising approach and bold, visionary planning that has made Waterloo Region great.  We can't let this happen.

Our three urban cities and four rural municipalities spent three years working with regional planners, politicians and hundreds of citizens to come up with the next 30 year Regional Official Plan.[i] <applewebdata://F8DE6D88-E484-4A40-9B08-5ADBD511FC05#_edn1>
It's the sustainable plan we need for the future with a focus on complete 15-minute communities, housing choice, affordability, improved transit, active transportation, ambitious climate targets, along with strong farmland and environmental protection. 

Doug Ford is out to destroy that. His Bill 23 currently being rushed through the legislature will end all regional planning, tear apart the Region of Waterloo and the Grand River Conservation Authority. Ford's vision is for massive amounts of unsustainable urban sprawl, and he's already started forcing that on municipalities that don't want or need it.[ii] <applewebdata://F8DE6D88-E484-4A40-9B08-5ADBD511FC05#_edn2>
He's ordering the destruction of huge tracts of irreplaceable farmland and even parts of the Greenbelt – to the delight of developers who've contributed millions of dollars to his political campaign.[iii] <applewebdata://F8DE6D88-E484-4A40-9B08-5ADBD511FC05#_edn3>
Worse yet, Ford is taking away our democratic rights and proper processes.  Bill 23 eliminates public notice and public meeting requirements, forbids Conservation Authorities to speak up while forcing them to sell off protected lands to developers, and ends the ability for citizens to appeal decisions at tribunals. 

We can't sit back and watch the Waterloo Region we've built through years of collaboration, discussion and compromise be destroyed by Ford's need to build unsustainable and unaffordable homes on precious farm lands and conservation areas.

Our focus in Waterloo Region has been on efficiency and regionalizing services such as police, paramedics, public transit, and economic development.  Ford’s backwards plan will undo years accomplishments.  It will compromise shared regional initiatives such as our core renewal, ION LRT Rapid Transit, Environmentally Sensitive Landscapes, and our unique Countryside Line concept that protects our farms and Mennonite communities.

Please help us keep Waterloo Region a great place to live.  Please contact our local Conservative MPP’s Mike Harris Jr, Brian Riddell, and Jess Dixon along with Minister Steve Clark and Premier Doug Ford.  Tell them Bill 23 must be stopped along with the attacks on regional planning and the Greenbelt. For more information and help on what to say please go to www.holdthelinewr.org <http://www.holdthelinewr.org/>. 

Brought to you by a broad consortium of community, environmental, agricultural groups and neighbourhood associations across Waterloo Region including the Grand River Environmental Network, Hold The Line Waterloo Region, 50x30WR, The Nith Valley Ecoboosters, Smart Growth Waterloo Region, and many others.

[i] <applewebdata://F8DE6D88-E484-4A40-9B08-5ADBD511FC05#_ednref1> There was only one dissenting vote out of 17 at Waterloo Region Council, Regional Councillor Michael Harris.

[ii] <applewebdata://F8DE6D88-E484-4A40-9B08-5ADBD511FC05#_ednref2>  Halton and Hamilton plan attacks -- https://www.thespec.com/opinion/editorials/2022/11/09/pushing-back-against-doug-fords-heavy-hand.html <https://www.thespec.com/opinion/editorials/2022/11/09/pushing-back-against-doug-fords-heavy-hand.html> - Will Waterloo Region's Official Plan be next?

[iii] <applewebdata://F8DE6D88-E484-4A40-9B08-5ADBD511FC05#_ednref3> CBC article - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/gta-developers-own-greenbelt-land-swap-1.6648273 <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/gta-developers-own-greenbelt-land-swap-1.6648273>

b) Data/Fact Driven Style Version

Doug Ford is Seeking to Destroy Our Visionary Planning in Waterloo Region

Between the devastating impacts of Bill 23, opening up the Greenbelt, and proposed changes that will gut Regional Planning and the GRCA, Doug Ford and Minister Steve Clark threaten to end our unique success in Waterloo Region

For decades bold, visionary planning and a collaborative barn-raising approach has made Waterloo Region unique and has led to the globally recognized success of our vibrant communities surrounded by the most productive farms in Canada.

This past summer, our next 30 year Regional Official Plan was overwhelmingly approved by area municipalities; it is the sustainable plan we need for the future with a focus on complete 15-minute communities, housing choice, affordability, improved transit, active transportation, ambitious climate targets, along with strong farmland and environmental protection.

However, Doug Ford has a different plan for Ontario.  Under the guise of building more homes, he’s forcing massive amounts of unsustainable urban sprawl on municipalities that don’t want it or need it.  Furthermore, he’s ordering the destruction of huge tracts of irreplaceable farmland and even parts of the Greenbelt – to the delight of many developers who had recently started to purchase large tracts of supposedly protected Greenbelt lands.

Doug Ford is not working for you or the greater public good.  Against the advice of experts, he wants to end all regional planning, tearing apart the Region of Waterloo and the Grand River Conservation Authority.  Already overburdened local municipalities will be left to do planning and co-ordination of shared services such water treatment, sewage, land use planning, flood control, and much more.  At the same time, Doug Ford is reducing development charges for developers that will result in massive local tax increases to cover the costs of new developments.

Our focus in Waterloo Region has been on efficiency and regionalizing services such as police, paramedics, public transit, and economic development.  Ford’s backwards plan threatens to undo years of efforts and compromise the shared regional initiatives that have been responsible for our globally leading successes such as iON LRT Rapid Transit, our core renewal, and our unique Countryside Line concept that protects our farms and Mennonite communities.

It will be almost impossible to meet our climate change goals and visionary community plans if Doug Ford forces thousands of acres of unsustainable urban sprawl onto Waterloo Region with his plan that according to experts, will actually build fewer homes, that are more expensive, and far less sustainable in distant car-dependent developments.

Worse yet, Ford is eliminating public notice and public meeting requirements, forbidding Conservation Authorities to speak up while forcing them to sell off protected lands to developers, and ending the ability for citizens to appeal decisions at tribunals.  He is taking away your democratic rights and giving them to a distant Minister at Queen’s Park.

Our new 2021 to 2051 Waterloo Regional Official Plan already is planning to build more homes, more affordably, and more sustainably than Ford’s give away of our community and the Greenbelt to developers. 

We need our visionary Regional Official Plan to continue our proven, successful future trajectory.  Lets not let Doug Ford destroy our success.  Speak up today for the future that you would like to see by contacting your MPP or going to www.holdthelinewr.org <http://www.holdthelinewr.org/> to learn more and automatically send a customizable e-mail from you to elected officials.

c) Bullet Point Version

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2) Join Rallies Across Ontario

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1Vb3nSQnJH031dAK-Q-_34SO6n_mf1fI&ll=44.471772926512486%2C-78.31762795&z=7 <https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1Vb3nSQnJH031dAK-Q-_34SO6n_mf1fI&ll=44.471772926512486,-78.31762795&z=7> 

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Dates to Remember:

Friday, November 18th - 5:30pm - Next group Zoom Update/Planning Meeting - https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82644695701?pwd=bnRsUGtWSUcrRnFWR21uYVBISG9jZz09 <https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82644695701?pwd=bnRsUGtWSUcrRnFWR21uYVBISG9jZz09>

Tuesday, November 22nd - 10:30am - Delegations to City of Guelph Council on getting a motion against Bill 23 approved.

Thursday, November 24th - Deadline for submissions to the Environmental Registry of Ontario - https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-6216 <https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-6216>

Sunday, December 4th - Deadline for submissions to the Environmental Registry of Ontario - https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-6216 <https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-6216>

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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.paccini 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/>

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Resources:

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

	- Olde Berlin Town Website Listing Resources - https://oldeberlintown.ca/information-about-proposed-bill-23/ <https://oldeberlintown.ca/information-about-proposed-bill-23/>
	- Yours to Protect Resources - https://yourstoprotect.ca/hands-off-the-greenbelt-digital-materials/ <https://yourstoprotect.ca/hands-off-the-greenbelt-digital-materials/>

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

Kevin Thomason
Vice-Chair, Grand River Environmental Network

1115 Cedar Grove Road
Waterloo, Ontario Canada  N2J 3Z4

Phone: (519) 888-0519
Mobile Phone/WhatsApp: (519) 240-1648
Twitter: @kthomason
E-mail:  <mailto:kevinthomason at mac.com>kevinthomason at mac.com <mailto:kevinthomason at mac.com>

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