MZOs to trump protections for nature and farmland

Buried in Bill 257, Supporting Broadband and Infrastructure Expansion Act, 2021, is a proposal to allow Minister's Zoning Orders (MZOs) to override legal and policy protections for farmland and natural heritage features and areas across Ontario. If the changes go forward, lands currently protected under the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) would become vulnerable to development at the whim of the Minister (Municipal Affairs and Housing), without public consultation or any opportunity for appeal.

MZOs are a tool that the government is using with unprecedented frequency to fast-track development. Conservation and agricultural organizations are united in their opposition to this ...

Buried in Bill 257, Supporting Broadband and Infrastructure Expansion Act, 2021, is a proposal to allow Minister's Zoning Orders (MZOs) to override legal and policy protections for farmland and natural heritage features and areas across Ontario. If the changes go forward, lands currently protected under the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) would become vulnerable to development at the whim of the Minister (Municipal Affairs and Housing), without public consultation or any opportunity for appeal.

MZOs are a tool that the government is using with unprecedented frequency to fast-track development. Conservation and agricultural organizations are united in their opposition to this misuse of MZOs which sidestep community consultation and local planning processes. At risk are the many benefits provided by Ontario’s farmland and natural heritage features and areas, including flood control, local food, water purification, carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, recreational opportunities and more.

Schedule 3 of Bill 257 aims to amend the Planning Act so that MZOs would no longer have to be consistent with the PPS. This would strike at the very foundation of Ontario’s comprehensive, integrated land use planning framework. The provincial government would be allowed to override – without fear of repercussion – strict protections for significant wetlands, woodlands and other wildlife habitat. Citizens would have no recourse through the courts to challenge MZOs that would shape the future of their communities.

Further, the Schedule 3 changes would apply retroactively to any existing MZOs. Where an MZO has violated PPS policies, it would be deemed to be legal after the fact. A case in point – the ongoing lawsuit, filed by Ecojustice on behalf of Ontario Nature and Environmental Defence, over an MZO that would allow the destruction of part of the provincially significant Lower Duffins Creek Wetland complex in Pickering. The groups are seeking to have the MZO quashed and declared unlawful for failing to comply with provincial law and policy. The Schedule 3 changes, however, could pose a significant challenge for the lawsuit by retroactively shielding the Government of Ontario.

You now have an opportunity to speak out against these proposed changes through the Environmental Registry (ERO # 019-3233). Please join Ontario Nature in demanding that Schedule 3 be removed from Bill 257. The deadline is April 3, 2021.

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Photo credit: torroloco CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

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Remove Schedule 3 from Bill 257

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Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark
Your local Member of Provincial Parliament
Provincial Planning Consultation contact

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Subject:

Dear Minister Clark,

Re: ERO #019-3233

I strongly oppose proposed changes to the Planning Act that would allow Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs) to override protections for Ontario’s farmland and significant natural areas. Schedule 3 of Bill 257 would amend the Planning Act so that MZOs no longer have to be consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, the very foundation of Ontario’s comprehensive, integrated land use planning framework.

Over the past year there has been a sharp, unprecedented increase in the use of MZOs to fast-track development without public consultation or the right to appeal. Schedule 3 adds insult to injury by also limiting our ability to challenge MZOs through the courts.

Farmland and natural features and areas offer vital benefits to our communities by helping to control flooding, filter water, store carbon and provide wildlife habitat. We ignore these benefits at our peril and against the interests of our children and grandchildren.

I urge you to remove Schedule 3 from Bill 257.

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