The Ford Government presented Bill 23, the ‘More Homes Faster Act’, on October 25th. Although the Bill sounds good, it affects our Conservation Authorities greatly.
Tim Cumming, Communications Specialist with the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority says if the bill passes, it could limit what our Conservation Authority’s do.
If Bill 23 passes it could reduce efforts to ensure good planning and development in Municipalities and cost the Municipality’s and rate payers more taxes. On top of that, Conservation Authorities wouldn’t have the responsibility and abilities to provide natural hazard review, there would be fewer checks.
Is Bill 23 passes, it will limit what Conservation Authorities can do. It could reduce efforts to ensure good planning principals are applied to development in municipalities, and limit expertise to Municipalities for development decisions.
For the ABCA, it will reduce the watershed health and limit protection to life and the property.
Download of costs to Municipalities and taxpayers is also a concern. The Province is proposing a freeze on user fees paid by developers.
That goes against the User Pay Principal that has been in effect.
This means more work and cost will go to Municipalities and local property taxpayers.
The Bill would reduce the amount developers pay through user fees and those fees will transfer to the local taxpayer.
The Bill proposes that Municipalities wouldn’t be able to enter into agreements with Conservation Authorities to review planning applications. That means decisions would be made without the best possible knowledge and all of the work would fall onto Municipalities.
Bill 23 would prevent Conservation Authorities from providing reviews of natural hazards. Fewer checks and balances would be performed to ensure that development would happen responsibly. This creates a risk to the environment and people.
The Bill proposes that Conservation land could be used for urban housing. If the land is used, it takes away protection from flooding, erosion and could contaminate your drinking water sources.
The ABCA agrees that building more homes is important, but it can be done by insuring there are timely reviews and approval of planning applications and permits.
Bill 23 would reduce wetlands and forest cover that is needed in Ontario. It could impact water quality, soil health and make the watershed less prepared for extreme weather conditions and the continued changes to our climate.
The ABCA encourages everyone to review Bill 23 and to give input about it. Public input closes on December 30th, 2022.
To read about Bill 23 you can go here: https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-43/session-1/bill-23
To learn more, or to provide input on the proposed changes, visit the Environmental Registry of Ontario for these Notices:
1. Proposed updates to the regulation of development for the protection of people and property from natural hazards in Ontario (https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-2927) (ERO number 019-2927); and
2. Legislative and regulatory proposals affecting conservation authorities to support the Housing Supply Action Plan 3.0 (https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-6141) (ERO number 019-6141).
The first page (ERO number 019-2927) includes a Consultation Guide on how to provide your input.
Visit Ontario’s Regulatory Registry for its document:
Focusing conservation authority development permits on the protection of people and property (https://www.ontariocanada.com/registry/view.do?postingId=29166&language=en)
You can listen to the full interview with Tim Cumming here:
Written by Kyla Close