For our PC government Bill 5 means ‘A place to grow’ profits for their friends

The Ontario Headwaters Institute, a provincial corporation with charitable status that promotes watershed security in Ontario, is deeply concerned about the polarization of Ontario over land use and watershed planning, currently being manifested regarding Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act.

The bill is another omnibus effort by the provincial government, with multiple corresponding postings to the environmental registry, to make drastic changes to a wide swatch of environmental and planning initiatives, with limited public input and apparently no meaningful consultation with First Nations.

Aside from the development industry, virtually no one likes this bill, including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, which sees it as a power grab by Cabinet to make decisions, threatening the rule of law in place since Lord Durham’s report on the rebellion of 1837 proposed responsible government in a nascent Canada.

The Ontario Headwaters Institute agrees with scores of organizations and thousands of individuals that the bill should be withdrawn.

In addition, however, the OHI has urged the government to consider the following constructive recommendations for sustainable development in a vibrant Ontario, each of which needs extensive consultation.

1.  Develop provincial standards similar to the guideline in the federal publication “How Much Habitat is Enough” while working to better implement Ontario’s Biodiversity Strategy.
2. Restore/renew A Wetland Conservation Strategy for Ontario, 2017–2030.
3. Require municipalities to integrate land use and watershed planning, perhaps based on the eight actions in our proposed Municipal Charter.
4. Reduce the impact of secondary land conversion (the conversion of farms, at an average loss of 319 acres a day, as well as old aggregate sites to impervious surfaces) by expanding the role of conservation authorities and Conservation Ontario, with support from appropriate ministries, to lead a massive effort to identify where to enlarge or create new Greenbelt-style core and corridor natural heritage areas as a counter-balance to the extensive development now taking place across South-central Ontario, especially in areas of anticipated high population growth. This initiative would constitute the basis of a multi-generational effort to safeguard our watersheds, their biodiversity, and agricultural land; reduce environmental risk and avoid the future costs of reduced natural assets; and help deliver nature-based solutions to address the climate and biodiversity crises
5. Increase the commitments in the Planning Act and the Provincial Planning Statement, as well as in similar initiatives, for sustainable planning, sustainable communities, and sustainable buildings.

These recommendations would pull Ontario back from a polarized discussion, safeguarding democratic and legal rights, protecting the environment and encouraging sustainable development. Why, in a twenty-first century facing crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, watershed security, housing affordability, and livable communities, would we go down any other path?

Andrew McCammon is the Executive Director of the Ontario Headwaters Institute

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