Update: Victory!! Provincial Government announced that Schedule 10 will be withdrawn from Bill 66 because of the huge public outcry. People power works!
A big thanks to all those who signed petitions and contacted their MPPs!!
The Government of Ontario is proposing Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018. It is unacceptable that Schedule 10 of this Bill would enable municipalities to simply pass an “open-for-business planning by-law” under the Planning Act, to exempt local development from the application of key components of several important provincial laws, plans and policies, including the:
• Clean Water Act, 2006, Section 39
• Great Lakes Protection Act, 2015, Section 20
• Greenbelt Act, 2005, Section 7
• Lake Simcoe Protection Act, 2008, Section 6, and
• Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2003, Section 7
It’s also extremely troubling that a municipal open-for-business planning by-law would not be subject to public notice, comment or appeal provisions which are currently mandatory under the Planning Act.
If passed, this legislation would enable municipalities and local developers to bypass important environmental and public safety protections. Risky and imprudent development decisions could have severe negative impacts on our air, land and water, as well as the Great Lakes and many other highly valued ecosystems.
Sustainable development and a healthy environment go hand in hand. We all want safe, healthy and resilient communities, so it is important that this government ensures legislation that protects our freshwater and groundwater resources, our farmland and the environment.
It is crucial that Schedule 10 of Bill 66 is rejected and this gutting/circumventing of protective legislation is stopped.
Please take action now by signing onto this petition and ask your local MPP to champion the rejection of Bill 66.
Comment deadline has expired! Thank you for taking action!