Bill 23 Threatens Wildlife in Ontario

UngulateNerd92

UngulateNerd92

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What is Bill 23?

Bill 23 or the “More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022” was introduced by the Government of Ontario on October 25, 2022 and passed on November 28, 2022. The government’s stated intention behind this bill is to support Ontario’s Housing Supply Action Plan to increase the amount of housing in the province. However, the implications of this, and other related recently-proposed changes, will be very far-reaching and concerning. Bill 23 and other proposed legislative and policy changes would affect natural heritage conservation, urban and rural land-use planning, and environmental protections through multiple and complex changes to:

  • Conservation Authorities Act
  • Greenbelt Area boundary regulation
  • Greenbelt Plan
  • Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan
  • Ontario Heritage Act and its regulations
  • Ontario Land Tribunal Act, 2001
  • Planning Act
  • City of Toronto Act
  • and more
Birds Canada is among the many groups that have voiced concerns about Bill 23 and other proposed policy changes. We share concerns that such changes will weaken environmental protections, infringe on Indigenous rights, limit public involvement in land-use planning and decision making, remove cities’ green building standards, remove farmland needed for food production – and, that it won’t increase (and may in fact decrease) the supply of truly affordable housing for people who need it the most. Further, the bill is based on the premise that there is insufficient land currently available for new housing – a premise that has been widely refused by housing and land-use planning experts.

Bill 23 threatens wildlife in Ontario | Birds Canada | Oiseaux Canada
 
Here is another relevant article.

Ontario passes housing bill amid criticism from cities, conservation authorities

Bill is part of province's plan to build 1.5 million homes in 10 years.

Ontario passed a housing bill Monday intended to spur development. Critics, however, say it will lead to higher property taxes, weaken conservation authority powers and not actually make homes more affordable.

The new law is just one move among many in a flurry of recent housing changes from the Progressive Conservative government, including plans to open some areas of the protected Greenbelt land to development and allowing the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa to pass bylaws with just one-third of council support.

Premier Doug Ford's housing push comes as the government attempts to get 1.5 million homes built in 10 years, while high inflation and interest rates have already forced the province to revise projections for housing starts downward. Ontario expects to build fewer than 80,000 new homes a year in the next couple of years.

Ontario passes housing bill amid criticism from cities, conservation authorities
 
Here is another relevant article.

Troubling questions about Doug Ford’s move into the Greenbelt

The Ontario government’s sudden and poorly explained decision this month to open protected land in the province’s Greenbelt to housing development is extremely troubling.

It is impossible for a reasonable person not to feel unease about it. It is also possible for the Ford government to provide transparency on the issue, and to demonstrate that its decision was justified, putting the matter to rest. The real problem is that this has not been done and doesn’t appear to be forthcoming.

https://www-theglobeandmail-com.cdn...ons-about-doug-fords-move-into-the-greenbelt/
 
Here is another relevant article.

Ontario’s Bill 23 say need for housing shouldn’t trump land protection

Critics of Bill 23 — the controversial Ontario legislation aimed at kickstarting homebuilding in the province — say opening parts of urban greenbelts for development will reduce flood protection, endanger species and result in the loss of some of Ontario’s best agricultural land.

Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government say the bill, which became law in late November, is necessary because of the continuing housing crisis in the province and a predicted rise in immigration.

But Angela Coleman, Conservation Ontario’s general manager, says the non-profit organization worries that development on formerly protected greenbelt lands in major urban centres — including Toronto and Ottawa — will accentuate annual spring flooding in river valley landscapes.

“So we’ve been talking to our partners hoping to help others understand what’s at stake if we lose watershed protection in Ontario,” said Coleman.

Coleman says Conservation Ontario is working with other environmental advocates, municipalities and conservation authorities to bring more awareness to the impacts of building on the Greenbelt around the GTA that has been serving as a natural buffer around urban developments.

Critics of Ontario's Bill 23 say need for housing shouldn't trump land protection - Capital Current
 
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