Thank you to everyone that signed petitions, put up signs, went to rallies and contacted your MPPs. Keeping the pressure on helped get us to this end result.
However, we are still watching to see what steps are taken to ensure that the Premier keeps his word. If not, we are prepared to take action.
Read on to learn about what took place leading up to the Premier of Ontario returning the lands to the Greenbelt.
A brief history of protecting biodiversity and drinking water
In 1973, the protection of the Niagara Escarpment from irresponsible development began. In 1990, the Niagara Escarpment was designated as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Biosphere Reserve. It includes coastlines, cliffs, wetlands, woodlands, alvars, and oak savannahs that are home to hundreds of bird species and other wildlife. Learn more here about the Niagara Escarpment.
Image credit: Brucetrail.org
In 2001, thanks to dedicated citizen groups, the Oak Ridges Moraine landform received protection. It is also known as the “rain barrel” of Ontario because it filters and recharges groundwater, and feeds the headwaters of 64 rivers and streams that provide drinking water to 6 million people. Watch this video to learn more about how the “rain barrel” of Ontario works.
The protection of these two areas set the stage for the creation of the Greenbelt that we know today. By safeguarding wetlands and watersheds, we are able to benefit from their natural flood mitigation capabilities and access to freshwater resources. And by protecting productive farmland, we know we will have dedicated land for food production in the future.
What is the Greenbelt Act?
In 2005, the Greenbelt Act was passed by the Ontario government, creating the world’s largest Greenbelt. The Act permanently protected two million acres of productive farmland and environmentally sensitive areas, like wetlands and watersheds. Today, the Greenbelt continues to be crucial in preparing Ontario for the impacts of climate change. Download this and other maps here.
Image credit: Greenbelt.ca
Unprotecting the protected: Bill 23 the More Homes Built Faster Act
Image credit: Environmental Defence
Learning about Bill 23 gives context as to why so many people stood up to challenge it. Read on to understand what it was aiming to do. Thankfully, most of what was proposed was reversed.
In November 2022, the Ontario government passed Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act. Overall, Bill 23 and its associated policies were designed to remove and weaken environmental protections and diminish the role of Ontarians in land use planning and decision-making. It also exempted developers from paying the municipality’s development charges and stripped Conservation Authorities of their comments on the environmental impacts of a development application.
In August 2023, the Auditor General’s Special Report on Changes to the Greenbelt was released proving Ford’s flawed procurement, undemocratic decision making, and narrow-mindedness regarding the appropriate development of much needed housing. It also showed how a few, well-connected developers were to benefit most from the removed Greenbelt lands. Read the overview or the full report to learn more. For Ontarians opposed to Bill 23, this report proved the many wrong-doings of the Ontario government and added more "fuel to the fire" to keep the pressure on and drive change.
The housing crisis is not a land issue
How the Ontario government messaged Bill 23 to the public is an interesting case study demostrating how it tried to leverage a culture flashpoint: the housing crisis in the province. Ontarians who didn't look into the details of the issue were led to believe carving out lands from a protected area were needed. However, many municipalities fought back by showing just how much housing was in their pipelines and land was available, within their urban boundaries, to provide housing.
The Alliance for a Liveable Ontario released a report that showed enough land was already in the planning pipeline to build more than two million homes, twice as many as required by provincial housing targets. A few takeaways from the report:
- New housing needs access to transit and there is no indication this can be similarly achieved through the construction of low-density homes in greenfield, car-dependent areas;
- The aging population is a significant market for intensification if age-appropriate/supportive housing is made available;
- The use of historical data to determine housing needs typically results in higher-than-realistic forecasts for single-detached units and lower-than-realistic forecasts for apartments;
- It’s unrealistic to assume the affordable housing crisis can be solved by the private sector, they will primarily play a supporting role to Federal, Provincial, and Municipal governments, non-profits, co-operatives, charities, and other organizations.
Bill 97: Another Bill that was designed to encourage sprawl and reduce farmland
Image credit: Ontario Farmland Trust
As if it wasn't enough with BIll 23, in April 2023, the Ontario government announced the proposal of Bill 97, Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act. However, the agriculture sector stood up to the Ontario government and send a united message opposing Bill 97. The government backed down. Understanding what was at stake helps frame why farmers stood together.
Among the proposed changes was an overhaul to residential development in rural areas by eliminating the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) and the rewriting of the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) under the Planning Act—two of Ontario’s key planning tools. Along with Bill 23 (above), these proposed changes would have enabled sprawl, increased costs to municipalities and made it difficult for farmers to operate.
Did you know Ontario loses 319 acres of farmland every day to non-agricultural land uses like urban development? This proposed Bill will undoubtedly increase that number by allowing sprawl, including development on Class 1 soil—the most productive and precious soil we depend on to produce food. Learn more about soil classes here.
The Alliance for a Liveable Ontario published a report about Bill 97 here. A few key takeaways from the report:
- The Province would stop using planning tools that affect almost 10.8 million Ontarians living in the Greater Golden Horseshoe by abandoning the “intensification first” or “transit first” priorities for growth planning
- The Bill would enable low-density urban sprawl by allowing new settlements to be developed on farmland through severances and eliminate farmland protection that undermines the agricultural sector
- It would remove the requirement for watershed plans to be completed ahead of urban boundary expansions
- It would abandon the policy prohibiting Great Lakes water pipelines in inland communities
Conservation Areas and what was at risk
Image credit: Grand River Conservation Authority
Bill 23 stripped Conservation Authorities (CA) of much of their planning functions and required that CAs review their lands and identify all lands where subdivisions could be built. They were to report back to the province by the end of 2024. There are many Conservation Areas that are part of these Conservation Authority lands, including Kortright Centre for Conservation, Nashville Conservation Reserve, Dundas Valley Conservation Area, Guelph Lake Conservation Area, Glen Haffy Conservation Area, Laurel Creek Conservation Area, and many others. Read this article to learn more.
Did you know?
A trip on the 401 highway passes by part of the Niagara Escarpment that includes Mount Nemo Conservation Area. If you take a closer look, you may see a small, ancient cedar clinging to the cliff’s edge that germinated in the year 1134 AD—it’s over 880 years old! In fact, the entire Niagara Escarpment is home to an ancient cliff-face forest. The Last Stand is a complete account of these trees and reminds us of how unique and worth protecting the area is.
Tools we shared to make a stand and to keep the pressure on
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Our first briefing note submitted to the Ontario government
Over 120 Ontario businesses, including fellow B Corps, signed our briefing note. Check it out here - the media picked it up too!
Our second letter signing campaign
In August, after the Auditor General’s Report was released, we began a new letter signing campaign in partnership with B Local Ontario demanding the Premier accept ALL of the Auditor General’s recommendations, including the return of all lands back to the Greenbelt.
We have paused this campaign (for now), but will call on the business community if we do not see the repeal of Bill 23.
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Here are a few examples of the resources that groups put together to help educate the public about Bill 97:
There is still time to provide comment to the Ontario government (until June 5, 2023)
Here are a few examples of the resources that groups put together to help educate the public about Bill 23
Watch an interview with these two mayors who explain how their municipalities are already addressing the housing crisis
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