<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class="">Good Day,</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">A reminder of our meeting today (Friday) March 17th at 5:30pm on Zoom - <a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82644695701?pwd=bnRsUGtWSUcrRnFWR21uYVBISG9jZz09" class="">https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82644695701?pwd=bnRsUGtWSUcrRnFWR21uYVBISG9jZz09</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">There continues to be an a lot of interesting (even crazy things) happening on Bill 23, the Greenbelt, and Regional Planning:</div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><font size="4" class=""><b class="">1) </b></font><font size="4" class=""><b class="">Waterloo Regional Official Plan Rally April 2, 2023 </b></font><span class="">- Join us on Sunday, April 2nd from 2pm to 3pm at our next rally event against forced urban boundary expansion and the development of farmland and natural spaces. The Waterloo Regional Official Plan (along with other Official Plans such as Wellington County’s Official Plan) are currently awaiting approval from Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark. A decision could come at anytime potentially forcing thousands of acres of unwanted sprawl similar to what the province has done to the Halton Region and City of Hamilton Official Plans.</span></div><div class=""><span class=""><br class=""></span></div><div class=""><span class="">Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife is already confirmed as a speaker and we hope that Waterloo Mayor Dorothy McCabe will be able to join us as well. We want to draw attention to the new report from the Alliance for a Livable Ontario (ALO) showing that municipalities in the Greater Golden Horseshoe already have sufficient lands for twice as many housing units as the province requires under Bill 23 and that Greenbelt land removals as well as forced urban boundary expansions are totally unnecessary.</span></div><div class=""><span class=""><br class=""></span></div><div class="">Please let either Mike or Kevin know if you are able to help Lyndsay Dajka and the Rally Committee with the organizing of this event as we need volunteers to help at a welcome table and as marshalls. We hope that you can join us for a fun-filled hour and help send a strong message on April 2nd! Learn more at the official Facebook page:</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/167796549418015" class="">https://www.facebook.com/events/167796549418015</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">More details including a rally poster and social media materials are attached below. Please circulate and share widely.</div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class=""><font size="4" class="">2) Greenbelt Council Muzzled -</font></b> A fascinating article was just released by the Narwhale showing through Freedom of Information Requests how the provincial government has gutted and muzzled the Greenbelt Council (now only four people) originally intended to protect and steward the Greenbelt:</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-muzzled-greenbelt-council/" class="">https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-muzzled-greenbelt-council/</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class=""><font size="4" class="">3) Recent Media Articles -</font></b> Great press and media coverage continues on Bill 23, the Greenbelt, and Regional Planning:</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Integrity Commissioner is Moving Forward with Summoning Witnesses in Greenbelt Probe:</div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><a href="https://www.thetrillium.ca/news/politics/integrity-commissioner-prepping-witness-summonses-in-greenbelt-probe-6709974" class="">https://www.thetrillium.ca/news/politics/integrity-commissioner-prepping-witness-summonses-in-greenbelt-probe-6709974</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Topless Greenbelt Protestor at Juno’s Ceremony in Alberta gets Everyone’s Attention:</div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><a href="https://www.cp24.com/entertainment-news/avril-lavigne-kicks-topless-protestor-against-ontario-greenbelt-development-off-junos-stage-1.6311882" class="">https://www.cp24.com/entertainment-news/avril-lavigne-kicks-topless-protestor-against-ontario-greenbelt-development-off-junos-stage-1.6311882</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>CTV News - Municipalities Feel Impacts of Housing Law and Little Progress:</div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-municipalities-feel-impacts-of-housing-law-worry-over-little-audit-progress-1.6310502?utm_source=the" class="">https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-municipalities-feel-impacts-of-housing-law-worry-over-little-audit-progress-1.6310502?utm_source=the</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Toronto Star - Ontario Municipalities Worry Over Little Audit Progress:</div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2023/03/13/ontario-municipalities-feel-impacts-of-housing-law-worry-over-little-audit-progress.html" class="">https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2023/03/13/ontario-municipalities-feel-impacts-of-housing-law-worry-over-little-audit-progress.html</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Paris Independent Front Page Coverage of the High School Walkout (and pages 5 and 6)!</div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><a href="https://issuu.com/theparisindependent/docs/the_paris_independent_for_saturday_march_11_2023" class="">https://issuu.com/theparisindependent/docs/the_paris_independent_for_saturday_march_11_2023</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Doug Ford Continues to See Low Approval Rating Amid Stag Party Controversy:</div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><a href="https://www.cp24.com/news/doug-ford-continues-to-see-low-approval-rating-amid-stag-party-controversy-report-1.6316334" class="">https://www.cp24.com/news/doug-ford-continues-to-see-low-approval-rating-amid-stag-party-controversy-report-1.6316334</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Golden Horseshoe Needs Zoning Reform:</div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><a href="https://environmentaldefence.ca/2023/03/14/the-golden-horseshoe-needs-zoning-reform-not-the-removal-of-greenbelt-land-how-to-discuss-data-from-the-alliance-for-a-livable-ontario-and-the-regional-planning-commissioners-of-ontario/" class="">https://environmentaldefence.ca/2023/03/14/the-golden-horseshoe-needs-zoning-reform-not-the-removal-of-greenbelt-land-how-to-discuss-data-from-the-alliance-for-a-livable-ontario-and-the-regional-planning-commissioners-of-ontario/</a></div><div class=""><br class=""><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" class="">CityTV Coverage - Welcome Back Ford Rally - excellent coverage from two weeks ago:</span></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;" class=""><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2pUX_tKfts" class="">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2pUX_tKfts</a></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;" class=""><b class=""><font size="4" class="">4) Coalition of Ontario Water Guardians -</font></b> COWG has an excellent online petition calling on the provincial government to commit to meaningful consultation on the proposed amalgamation of the Places to Grow Act and the Provincial Policy Statement that could have far reaching impacts. The petition has many connections to Bill 23 and related issues. Take a minute to sign it here:</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><a href="https://act.newmode.net/action/ontario-headwaters-institute/ontario’s-water-security-must-be-better-protected" class="">https://act.newmode.net/action/ontario-headwaters-institute/ontario’s-water-security-must-be-better-protected</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class=""><font size="4" class="">5) Hallman Pit and Wilmot Township -</font></b> There have been several excellent Letters to the Editor regarding the Hallman Gravel Pit application and the dreadful way that the Township of Wilmot has handled their surprise approval based on their fears of a section of Bill 23 that it turns out hasn’t even been enacted and isn’t even in force:</div></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><br class=""></div></div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><a href="https://www.therecord.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editors/2023/03/10/farmland-is-too-easily-disposed-of-in-wilmot-township.html" class="">https://www.therecord.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editors/2023/03/10/farmland-is-too-easily-disposed-of-in-wilmot-township.html</a></div><div class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><a href="https://www.therecord.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editors/2023/03/10/wilmot-councillors-should-be-listening-to-their-citizens.html" class="">https://www.therecord.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editors/2023/03/10/wilmot-councillors-should-be-listening-to-their-citizens.html</a></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class=""><font size="4" class="">6) Other Upcoming Rally’s - Halton Hills </font></b>- <span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: rgb(38, 40, 42);" class="">Folks in Halton Hills are organizing a pop-up rally</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: rgb(38, 40, 42);" class=""> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: rgb(38, 40, 42);" class="">on </span><b style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: rgb(38, 40, 42);" class="">Saturday March 25, 11am-12pm EST </b><span style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: rgb(38, 40, 42);" class="">in Milton at the corner of Main and Ontario Sts., outside MPP Parm Gill's office. All are welcome! Bring homemade signs, noisemakers and help us draw attention to the cause and remind the government we're not going away and remain committed to protecting the Greenbelt! The plan is to continue the pop-rallies across Halton, having them in Oakville, Burlington and Halton Hills in coming weeks. For more information contact: </span><a href="mailto:melissa.j.gismondi@gmail.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: rgb(25, 106, 212); text-decoration-line: underline;" class="">melissa.j.gismondi@gmail.com</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class=""><font size="4" class="">Kincardine -</font></b> The Huron Fringe Field Naturalists <span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">(HFFN) is worried that the provincial government thinks the public has either forgotten or doesn’t care that Bill 23 opens up thousands of acres of the Greenbelt to development, removes protections for environmentally sensitive lands and overrides local municipal control over land usage. </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">HFFN 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 <b class="">11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 15th.</b> 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. At noon everyone will reconvene at the starting point to meet, mingle and hear remarks from local municipal and community leaders.</span></div><br style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">Inquiries may be made through the Huron Fringe Field Naturalists </span><a href="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" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="">Facebook page</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""> - </span><font color="#333333" class=""><a href="https://www.facebook.com/HuronFringeFieldNaturalists" class="">https://www.facebook.com/HuronFringeFieldNaturalists</a></font><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class=""><span class=""><font class=""><b class=""><font size="4" class="">7) Reminder - Meeting this Friday</font></b><b class=""> -</b> Our next update meeting will be this <span class=""><font class="">Friday, March 17th at 5:30pm - Please join us for the latest news and information.</font></span></font></span></div><div class=""><div dir="auto" class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div class=""><div class=""><div dir="auto" class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Topic: Grand River Watershed Bill 23 Bi-Weekly Zoom Meeting</div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Time: Every Other Friday at 5:30pm EST</div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br class=""></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Join Zoom Meeting</div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82644695701?pwd=bnRsUGtWSUcrRnFWR21uYVBISG9jZz09" class="">https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82644695701?pwd=bnRsUGtWSUcrRnFWR21uYVBISG9jZz09</a></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;"><br class=""></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Meeting ID: 826 4469 5701</div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Passcode: 713374</div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br class=""></div><div class="" style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br class=""></div></div></div><div class=""><div class="">Thanks for all the great efforts so far. Please share any questions or ideas.</div><div class=""><div id="ydp9fa07544yiv0892781770yqtfd24641" class="ydp9fa07544yiv0892781770yqt1303954863"><div class=""><br clear="none" class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class="" style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: rgb(38, 40, 42);"><span class="ydp9fa07544yiv0892781770ydp8bacb94dyiv1865983000Apple-style-span">Cheers,</span></div><div class="" style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: rgb(38, 40, 42);">Kevin Thomason and Mike Marcolongo on behalf of all our community groups.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="">-----------------------------------</div><div class=""><div dir="auto" class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div class=""><div dir="auto" class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div class="" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div class=""><div class=""><b class="" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: rgb(38, 40, 42);"><font size="4" class="">A) Upcoming Events</font></b></div><div class=""><b class="" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: rgb(38, 40, 42);"><font size="4" class=""><br class=""></font></b></div><div class=""><span class="" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: rgb(38, 40, 42);"><font class=""><div class=""><span class=""><font class="">Friday, March 17th - 5:30pm - Next update meeting on Zoom - </font></span><a href="https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82644695701?pwd=bnRsUGtWSUcrRnFWR21uYVBISG9jZz09" class="">https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82644695701?pwd=bnRsUGtWSUcrRnFWR21uYVBISG9jZz09</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Saturday, March 25th - 11am - 12 pm - Halton Hills Rally at Main and Ontario Streets in Milton</div><div class=""></div></font></span></div><div class=""><div class="" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br class=""></div><div class="" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><b class="" style="caret-color: rgb(38, 40, 42); color: rgb(38, 40, 42);"><font size="4" class=""><div class="" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400;">Sunday, April 2nd - 2:00pm - 3:00pm - Rally to Respect Waterloo Region’s Official Plan - 475 King St North, Waterloo - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/167796549418015" class="">https://www.facebook.com/events/167796549418015</a></div><div class="" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400;"><br class=""></div><div class="" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400;">Saturday, April 15th - 11am - 12:30pm - Kincardine Rally Against Bill 23 - details below</div><div class="" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400;"><br class=""></div><div class="" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400;">Friday, Saturday and Sunday April 21st, 22nd, and 23rd - Lots of Earth Day Events happening across Ontario - <a href="https://environmentaldefence.ca/ytpweekend2023/" class="">https://environmentaldefence.ca/ytpweekend2023/</a></div></font></b></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">--------------------------------------------</div><div class=""><b class=""><font size="4" class=""><br class=""></font></b></div><div class=""><b style="font-size: large;" class="">B) April 2nd Waterloo Rally Posters and Additional Information - </b>please feel free to share and circulate these materials widely including the designs specifically for social media:</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class="">Rally Poster:</b></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>