[All] Bill 23, Bill 97, Regional Planning, Greenbelt Update, Meeting Friday, April 14th at 5:30pm

Wed Apr 12 23:58:17 EDT 2023

Good Evening,

A reminder of our meeting on Friday, April 14th at 5:30pm on Zoom where we will try to address everything announced recently by the province - https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82644695701?pwd=bnRsUGtWSUcrRnFWR21uYVBISG9jZz09

In addition to Thursday’s announcements just before the holiday weekend including Bill 97, the elimination of the Growth Plan and the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS), the announcement of the Provincial Planning Statement and so much more, there continues to be additional announcements yesterday on the long-awaited Ministerial decision on Region of Waterloo Official Plan, and we have learned that Doug Ford will in Kitchener on Thursday (April 13th) for yet even more announcements:

1) Mike Marcolongo Hit By A Car - This past Saturday afternoon Mike Marcolongo who has been leading so many of our activities and co-hosting our Friday at 5:30pm calls was hit while riding his bicycle by a car travelling over 80km/hr.  Thankfully he was wearing a helmet which likely saved his life.  He suffered multiple skull fractures, serious head trauma, and numerous facial fractures.  He is now out of the ICU and is recovering well.  He is up and walking, and may even be sent home from the hospital in the next few days.  We wish him a speedy recovery and know that his usual determination and tenacity will help to ensure he will soon be back to help lead things again.

2) Waterloo Regional Official Plan Approval - In a surprise announcement on Tuesday afternoon (that was actually expected last week) Minister Steve Clark approved the Region of Waterloo Official Plan with 12 amendments.  Similar to Hamilton and Halton which each saw the province force thousands of hectares of urban boundary expansion, the Minister has forced over 2,200 hectares (5,700 acres) of boundary expansion and urban sprawl on Waterloo Region in a final and unappealable decision.

Attached below are the three documents released by the Ministry and we are still trying to understand all of the announcements, changes, and implications.  While the amount of forced boundary expansion is horrific - potentially dooming more than 57 100 acre local farms to destruction, it appears that with the exception of one small area (Big Springs in SW Kitchener) everything is within the Countryside Line and these lands were eventually expected to face development in the decades ahead anyways - though the land supply that was to last for many generations has been completely designated immediately by the province in an authoritarian decision with no data or rationale that overrides years of planning and democratic decisions by our local councils.

On a more positive note, the Minister has kept and agreed with our Countryside Line Concept which is significant and almost all of our Regional Official Plan has been approved with its sustainable, walkable, complete communities, affordable housing, housing choice, public transit, and other visionary components remaining intact.

The province has used up every hectare of land within our Countryside Line but they have also kept our ambitious density and people/jobs/ha targets if we are interpreting things correctly.  Thus, all of these thousands of hectares are going to be built at high densities of 61% intensification and 59 pj/ha which means that we could have space not only for the hundreds of thousands of new residents already included in our ROP, but now another 230,000 more people with all these additional lands so we will have decades of land already designated at these densities.  And there little chance that 400,000+ people are moving to Waterloo in the next few years.

With our ESL’s, ESPA’s, Protected Countryside, Source Water Protection Areas, Countryside Line, etc. still seemingly intact (even if delegated to the lower tier municipalities) and the removal of Regional Planning Authority in Bill 23 delayed until at least Winter 2024 there is a lot for us to work with here to ensure the sustainable communities we are going to need for the future.

There could be an opportunity to work with our local municipalities to ensure they are focused on a long-term sustainable plan for our community based on the ROP and that any staging or development of all this newly designated development land be done in a very steady, logical process that could make it last for many decades - perhaps even to the end of the century or longer.

In the end, our interpretation could be completely wrong and there could be significant things things that we are missing but given that at least 8 out of the 12 amendments the Minister is forcing have to do with absurd things like railway tracks, an apartment building pretty much in the Speed River, and a self-storage facility in Woolwich Township it seems that things could have been far worse.

3) Additional Region of Waterloo Official Plan Materials - You can learn more about the approval of the ROP on the Environmental Registry of Ontario (though no comments are allowed to be submitted):

	https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-5952

	ROP Media Articles:

	Province opens more land for housing in Waterloo Region:
	https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/2023/04/12/province-opens-more-land-for-housing-in-waterloo-region.html

4) Bill 97, Provincial Policy Planning Changes - As we all try to figure out and learn more about all of the new provincial planning policy announcements that were released just before the holiday weekend, Osler Law has released an easy-to-read overview of the major changes - it is well worth reviewing to understand the scope and scale of the changes that the province is pushing through that will impact Ontario for decades:

	Osler Review of Provincial Planning Policy Changes - PPS, Growth Plan, Planning Act, and Bill 97
	https://www.osler.com/en/resources/regulations/2023/policy-refresh-ontario-government-proposes-key-changes-to-provincial-planning-policy

5) Bill 97 and Provincial Planning Policy Changes Media Coverage - There has been a lot of press over the past few days on much of what is being proposed by the province:

	CBC - How Ontario’s Latest Plan Encourages Sprawl:
	https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/doug-ford-housing-ontario-land-use-planning-changes-1.6804894

	CBC - Ontario Proposes New Powers to Allow Cities To Expand Boundaries for Housing:
	https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-housing-bill-steve-clark-1.6803853

	The Narwhal - Ontario is Trying to Make it Easier to Convert Land into New Suburbs - Again:
	https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-mzo-farmland/

		The Toronto Star - Critics Warn Ford Governments New Plan to Meet Housing Target Will Boost Sprawl:
	https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2023/04/06/ford-government-unveils-details-of-renoviction-protections-for-tenants-right-to-install-air-conditioners.html

	The Toronto Star - Ontario Will Offer Cash to Toronto and other Cities Caught in Development Fee Squeeze:
	https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2023/04/04/after-complaints-ontario-will-offer-cash-to-toronto-and-other-cities-caught-in-development-fee-squeeze.html

6) Rural Farm Severances - One of the most disturbing changes was a surprise announcement allowing farms to be able to have three land severances and then also build an additional two homes on every farm.  Given that we are already losing 319 acres of farmland in Ontario every day, chopping up our intact farms into lots of smaller parcels for housing is only likely to dramatically worsen this loss.  

Also, in places like the Region of Waterloo where since 1973 there has been a very strictly enforced No Rural Severances less than 80 acres (since this was determined to be the minimum size of a viable farm) the province now overriding this very defining feature of our region and unleashing a wave of farm land severances will fracture and disrupt our very intact and successful agricultural landscape.  The consequences could be very far-reaching including dramatically increasing the price of farmland once again pricing it further out of reach of most farmers and making it increasingly difficult for new farmers to get started with their own farm.

	The Record - New Housing Law Threatens Farmland in Waterloo Region
	https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/2023/04/12/new-housing-law-threatens-farmland-in-waterloo-region.html

	The Globe and Mail - Ontario Housing Bill Would Scrap Density Targets, Allow More Development On Farmland:
	https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ontario-legislation-housing-farmland/

7) New Regional Official Plan/Stop Sprawl Lawn Signs - Thanks to the dozens of people who have put up our new red lawn signs designed to raise awareness about the Regional Official Plan and the need to stop forced boundary expansions to protect our farmland, water and green space.   We still have some signs available (example below).  Please let any of our Waterloo Region sign captains know if you would be interested in some for your lawn and neighbourhood:

	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>
	Cambridge - vacant - ashleynlabelle at gmail.com <mailto:ashleynlabelle at gmail.com>
	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>

8) Costs Found Against Blair MZO Group - in a horrific decision made possible and encouraged by the Ford government, the grassroots community group fighting the Blair Amazon Warehouse MZO has lost its case at the Divisional Court of Ontario and has been ordered to pay billionaire Broccolini developer group $20,000 for court costs.  Surprisingly, the court decided not to penalize the City of Cambridge for its astonishingly undemocratic actions and repeated secret meetings regarding this MZO.  This is a very troubling situation and precedent for citizen involvement and community planning in Ontario in a landscape that has already been so skewed in favour of powerful developers and against the general public.

	Blair MZO Update - Costs found against community group:
	https://kitchener.citynews.ca/2023/04/06/court-orders-citizens-committee-to-pay-builders-of-amazon-warehouse-in-blair/?

9) Earth Day Events - Dozens of different Earth Day events are being planned across Ontario.  You can learn more and list your event at the Yours to Protect website:

	https://environmentaldefence.ca/ytpweekend2023/

10) Upcoming Rallies - Kincardine - The Huron Fringe Field Naturalists invites concerned citizens to show Premier Ford the error of his ways and demonstrate their support for protecting farms, forests and wetlands by attending a rally in Kincardine from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 15th. Participants will park at the Davidson Centre, 601 Durham Street, Kincardine, and gather near the Lions Splash Pad. Marchers will spread out along Durham Street east to Highway 21. Inquiries may be made through the Huron Fringe Field Naturalists Facebook page <https://ontarionature.thankyou4caring.org/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fwww.facebook.com%2fHuronFringeFieldNaturalists&srcid=52743&srctid=1&erid=10738928&trid=1e4d4feb-7574-42fb-91d8-00b55c3fea95> - https://www.facebook.com/HuronFringeFieldNaturalists

11) Province Refuses to Release Greenbelt Documents - Great investigative reporting by the Narwhal has identified documents that could reveal how the government chose the 15 parcels of land for removal from the Greenbelt but the government is refusing to release them in an affront to democracy and freedom of information:

	The Narwhal - Ontario won’t release document that could show how government chose Greenbelt cuts:
	https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-greenbelt-freedom-of-information/

12) Wellington County Building Permits Hit Record - 853 permits were issued for a record number of new building permits in Wellington County:

	https://www.guelphtoday.com/local-news/county-permits-for-new-residential-builds-hit-record-high-in-22-6831824

13) Reminder - Meeting this Friday - Our next update meeting will be this Friday, April 14th at 5:30pm - Please join us for the latest news and information.

	Topic: Grand River Watershed Bill 23 Bi-Weekly Zoom Meeting
	Time: Every Other Friday at 5:30pm EST

	Join Zoom Meeting
	https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82644695701?pwd=bnRsUGtWSUcrRnFWR21uYVBISG9jZz09

	Meeting ID: 826 4469 5701
	Passcode: 713374

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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A) Upcoming Events

Friday, April 14th - 5:30pm - Next update meeting on Zoom - https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82644695701?pwd=bnRsUGtWSUcrRnFWR21uYVBISG9jZz09

Saturday, April 15th - 11am - 12:30pm - Kincardine Rally Against Bill 23 - details below

Friday, Saturday and Sunday April 21st, 22nd, and 23rd - Lots of Earth Day Events happening across Ontario - https://environmentaldefence.ca/ytpweekend2023/

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B) Waterloo Regional Official Plan Documents from Minister Steve Clark

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C) Regional Official Plan Lawn Sign

Please let us know if you would be interested in a sign.

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D) Kincardine Rally Information - April 15th

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E) Earth Day Events 

https://environmentaldefence.ca/ytpweekend2023/

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F) Intriguing Article:

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G) 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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