[All] Bill 23, Bill 97, Regional Planning, PPS Updates - Meeting Friday, July 7th at 5:30pm
Kevin Thomason
kevinthomason at mac.com
Thu Jul 6 21:33:08 EDT 2023
Good Day,
A reminder of our regular update meeting tomorrow - Friday, July 7th at 5:30pm on Zoom where we hope that you will join us to discuss recent events and plan for the upcoming rally: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82644695701?pwd=bnRsUGtWSUcrRnFWR21uYVBISG9jZz09 Hopefully you will be able to join us.
Here’s the latest:
1) Speak Up By August 4th - Feedback to the government regarding the rural severances, new PPS, natural heritage system changes, and agricultural system update need to be submitted to the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) and our MPPs by August 4th. There has been strong feedback from municipalities and our groups need to be responding as well.
It’s easy to submit a comment to the ERO. Please do so right now even if it is only a couple of sentences at:
https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-6813
2) Proposed Rally and Picnic - Saturday, July 29th - Our Rally Committee continues planning our next rally for Saturday, July 29th in advance of the August 4th PPS ERO deadline. It is fantastic to see a wide variety of community groups - including ACORN, Hold The Line, The Council of Canadians, and others joining with us for this fun summer event.
An initial draft of the poster is attached below with the plan to rally along University Avenue West adjacent to the University of Waterloo starting at 2:00pm and then move to the bandshell in Waterloo Park a few hundred metres away for speeches and a social picnic. The location is right on the iON Light Rail Transit Line (Laurier/Waterloo Park Station), easily reached by bus from Westmount or University Avenue and there is nearby parking available to the south in Waterloo Park and to the northwest in the University of Waterloo parking lots.
We are hoping for a strong turnout and fun afternoon visiting with friends and groups from across the Grand River Watershed while sending a strong message to the provincial government and working to ensure as many ERO submissions as possible.
Our Rally Committee has grown substantially under guidance and hard work of Hal Jaeger and Laura New. Lindsay Dajka will be the Rally Co-ordinator while others including David Lubell, Dorothy and Andy Wilson, Jenna Quinn, Anne Moore, Barb Hogg, Brooklin Wallis, and Sam Nabi are providing a wide variety of assistance.
Please share any questions or ideas and be sure to join us Saturday, July 29th from 2:00pm to 4:00pm.
3) Latest Media Coverage - The onslaught of media coverage continues with numerous articles questioning the ethics and actions of Doug Ford’s provincial government, strong mayor powers, climate change, and many other issues:
The Trillium - Doug Ford’s Right Hand Man, PC MPP went to Las Vegas with Greenbelt Developer:
https://www.thetrillium.ca/news/the-trillium-investigations/doug-fords-right-hand-man-pc-mpp-went-to-las-vegas-with-greenbelt-developer-in-2020-sources-7212244
The Trillium - Integrity Commissioner Looking Into Lobbying Firm Run By Doug Ford’s Long Time Right Hand Man:
https://www.thetrillium.ca/news/the-trillium-investigations/integrity-commissioner-looking-into-lobbying-firm-run-by-doug-fords-longtime-right-hand-man-7138199
The Narwhal - More Evidence of the Opening the Greenbelt Months Earlier:
https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-greenbelt-email-june-2022/
Toronto Star - Why Is This Real Estate Brokerage Pushing for 15 Minute Neighbourhoods:
https://www.thestar.com/real-estate/2023/06/26/why-is-this-real-estate-brokerage-pushing-for-15-minute-neighbourhoods.html
City - News - Cambridge Mayor Responds to Strong Mayor Powers:
https://kitchener.citynews.ca/2023/06/26/cambridge-mayor-responds-to-strong-mayor-powers/?
City News - Guelph Residents Have Their Say on Strong Mayor Powers:
https://kitchener.citynews.ca/2023/06/29/guelph-residents-have-their-say-on-strong-mayor-powers/?
City News - Ford Weighs In On Regional Mayors Turning Down Strong Mayor Powers:
https://kitchener.citynews.ca/2023/06/27/ford-weighs-in-on-regional-mayors-turning-down-strong-mayor-powers/?
The Record - Climate Change Denial Ensures This Isn’t The Last of Our Smoky Summers:
https://www.therecord.com/opinion/climate-change-denial-ensures-this-is-not-the-last-of-our-smoky-summers/article_08d74f98-ff27-5d0c-8228-7775879ee1d5.html?
The Narwhal - 30,000 homes proposed for Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve, Former Crown Jewel of Ontario’s Greenbelt:
https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-duffins-rouge-greenbelt/?
4) In-depth Reading - there has been some recent longer articles that provide an more detailed reporting of what is happening to Canada’s farmland and clean energy reaching a tipping point that is worth reading:
CBC - What’s happening to Canada’s Farmland?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canada-prime-farmland-1.6877661
The Narwhal - Hope and Fear:
https://thenarwhal.ca/climate-change-clean-energy-tipping-point/
5) Greenbelt Promise Fundraising Event - July 20th in Guelph - The old-fashioned barn party at the historic Beattie-Blair Barn (circa 1870) in Guelph on July 20th from 6:30pm to 9:30pm is unfortunately being postponed.
The event will be rescheduled for 2024 so watch for details in the coming months.
6) Save Ontario’s Farms, Forests & Wetlands Campaign - Environmental Defence has launched a new campaign to encourage people to speak up and send letters to the provincial government to save Ontario’s Farms, Forests and Wetlands. It only takes one click to send letters to a wide variety of MPP’s, Ministers and the Premier. Take action at:
https://act.environmentaldefence.ca/page/125823/action/1
7) Leadnow Greenbelt Petition - Leadnow is using their massive reach and lists to encourage people to speak up and ask the Federal Government to step in and better protect the Greenbelt. Take a minute to speak up and take action at:
https://act.leadnow.ca/block-development-greenbelt/?
8) ALO Building Hope Webinar - The Alliance for a Liveable Ontario is holding their next webinar “Getting it Right: Building the Housing We Need” on Tuesday, July 25th at 4pm. Speakers include Professor Carolyn Whitzman and Leith Moore. Join elected officials, municipal staff, and citizens from across Ontario to learn what you can do to help build liveable neighbourhoods - not just more houses. Register at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_M3qSOEBAS9CWQ-lKRm_xqQ#/registration
ALO also just also held a provincial strategy planning meeting last week with leaders from across Ontario discussing goals and ambitions for the next two years. If you aren’t yet a member of ALO you are encouraged to join and help work towards a more liveable Ontario:
https://www.liveableontario.ca/
9) Survey Results Are In! - Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond to our survey about the optimal meeting time for our group. Our Friday at 5:30pm was originally chosen in a panic back in October when Bill 23 was released and we knew we had to inform and mobilize a broad collective of citizens and groups from across the Grand River Watershed. Friday at 5:30pm was decided upon because we felt that nobody would ever be foolish enough to schedule a meeting for 5:30pm on a Friday so therefore most people should be available to meet on Zoom and deal with the issues on such short notice.
It turns out that the Friday at 5:30pm time while not always convenient has worked well for the past 9 months and the vast majority of survey respondents felt that we should keep the Friday at 5:30pm time with there being no other proposed time that even came close to the same level of support.
Thus, despite busy summer weekends, we will continue to meet every other Friday at 5:30pm on Zoom. Feel free to join us from your deck, pool, dock, favourite pub, or wherever and if you can’t make it we will still endeavour to send out these e-mail updates as well. We continue to add several new people each week to the mailing lists. Please let us know if there are others that we should be sending this update to and inviting to join our Friday at 5:30pm meetings.
10) Reminder - Meeting this Friday - Join us this Friday, July 7th at 5:30pm:
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, July 7th - 5:30pm - Next update meeting on Zoom - https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82644695701?pwd=bnRsUGtWSUcrRnFWR21uYVBISG9jZz09
Tuesday, July 25th - ALO Webinar - Getting it Right: Building the Housing We Need - https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_M3qSOEBAS9CWQ-lKRm_xqQ#/registration
Saturday, July 29th - 2:00pm - Rally and Picnic at Waterloo Park - details on Rally Poster below
Friday, August 4th - last day to comment on the Provincial Policy Statement - https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-6813
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B) Draft Rally and Picnic Poster - Saturday, July 29th at 2:00pm

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C) Speak up on the Provincial Policy Statement and proposed rural severances for farmland:
Please comment by August 4th on the PPS: https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-6813 <https://gasp4change.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f78129ba7eabe097015221d5d&id=840c2d168c&e=8a629d034f>

Here are some notes to help write your comments:
https://environmentaldefence.ca/2023/04/06/ontario-to-kill-growth-plan-proposed-new-planning-rules-would-kneecap-housing-supply-efforts-and-unleash-unprecedented-sprawl-on-ontarios-forests-farmland-and-wetlands/ <https://gasp4change.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f78129ba7eabe097015221d5d&id=4ae43b5c7d&e=8a629d034f>
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D) Here's Excellent Ontario Nature Led Submission on the PPS and Rural Severances you can use in your ERO submission:

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E) Environmental Defence Campaign

https://act.environmentaldefence.ca/page/125823/action/1
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F) Leadnow Greenbelt Petition:

https://act.leadnow.ca/block-development-greenbelt/?
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G) Other News:

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H) Become A Member of Citizens For Safe Ground Water and Speak Up Against the Hallman Pit:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkSZUHJfyKGs4oF6YrgcYGlEhLGCguCzAu9MRyK1GUN8dlpg/viewform
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I) 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
Will Bouma - MPP Brantford-Brant - will.bouma at pc.ola.org <mailto:will.bouma at pc.ola.org> or (519) 759-0361
Ted Arnott - MPP Wellington-Halton Hills - ted.arnott at pc.ola.org <mailto:ted.arnott at pc.ola.org> or (519) 787-5247
Ernie Hardeman - MPP Oxford - ernie.hardeman at pc.ola.org <mailto:ernie.hardeman at pc.ola.org> or (519) 537-5222
Matthew Rae - MPP Perth-Wellington - matthew.rae at pc.ola.org <mailto:matthew.rae at pc.ola.org> or (519) 272-0660
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
Local Green Party MPPs:
Mike Schreiner - MPP Guelph - mschreiner at ola.org <mailto:mschreiner at ola.org> or (519) 836-4190
Independent MPPs:
Bobbi Ann Brady - MPP Haldimand-Norfolk - babrady-co at ola.org <mailto:babrady-co at ola.org> or (519) 428-0446
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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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