Bill 23 is going through parliament at lightening speed. It went through the second reading in under a week. We have no time. Some of the key concerns in the bill are: 1. Removes key protections to our environment (wetlands, farmland, sensitive areas opened up and conservation authorities lose even more power). 2. Reduces affordable housing protection and money collected from municipalities to pay for affordable housing projects. 3. Significantly curtails all third-party appeal rights. 4. Reduces development fees which means our municipalities will have less money to fix roads, etc.Taxes will most likely increase because money will have to come from somewhere. 5. Allows the Minister to make amendments to an official plan. 6. Reduces the influence of conservation authorities that protect watersheds and green spaces and gives them much less say over where housing developments can proceed. 7. Weakens the rules on how to identify provincially significant wetlands so fewer of them would qualify for any protections that remain. 8. Potentially reduces all environmental review of all planning proposals by removing conservation authorities’ roles in development approval, planning, and environmental protection 9. The bill also proposes to allow development in currently protected wetlands, woodlands and wildlife habitat under a yet-to-be-defined “offsetting” program. 10. Conservation authorities will no longer be allowed to consider factors like pollution or land conservation when approving building permits, 11. Sharply limits 'Site plan control', which currently deals with design and compatibility issues like landscaping and drainage. Requirements for developments with less than 10 units would be removed, and site plan reviews for larger projects would focus only on health and safety issues rather than on overall compatibility and neighborhood impact 12. The bill sets a cap on the number of affordable units and the affordability period. 13. Nothing in the bill ensures new homes, built with public incentives, are kept affordable 14. Restricts who can engage in tribunal hearings, and what issues they can engage on, and increases the ability of the Tribunal to reject appeals, remove participants, and penalize those who raise concerns. Key Notes - Dianne Saxe: New Toronto City Councillor, Former Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, Environmental Lawyer - Phil Pothen: Environmental Defense Actions you can take: 1. Complete this form to help mobilize across the province. https://forms.gle/QAgQ3EwaeCJfHmvt7 2. Reach out to as many organizations as possible from affordable housing, protection of our environment, unions working on clean energy, neighborhood associations. Everyone needs to know about this Bill. 3. Email/call your MPP and MP, especially if they are from the Conservative party. 4. Amplify social media posts on the concerns about Bill 23, Other resources: https://www.osler.com/en/resources/regulations/2022/forget-everything-you-thought-you-knew-about-planning-approvals-in-ontario%E2%80%A6 https://environmentaldefence.ca/2022/10/31/ontarios-housing-bill-is-actually-a-trojan-horse-for-environmentally-catastrophic-rural-sprawl/

Why Should You Care: Growth Plan, Urban Sprawl, Infrastructure Deficit, & Taxes This is a short clip from our Nov 4th meeting, Bill 23: Why Should You Care. Watch the full recording: Part 1: https://youtu.be/eR6mWd_wYl0 Part 2: https://youtu.be/6DIqFdgxWns

Why should you care about the removal of Green Development Standards in Bill 23. This is a short clip from our Nov 4th meeting, Bill 23: Why Should You Care. Watch the full recording: Part 1: https://youtu.be/eR6mWd_wYl0 Part 2: https://youtu.be/6DIqFdgxWns

Bill 23: Why Should You Care: How communities are planned & what is a site control plan This is a short clip from the 2nd part of our Nov 4th meeting, Bill 23: Why Should You Care. Watch the full recording: Part 1: https://youtu.be/eR6mWd_wYl0 Part 2: https://youtu.be/6DIqFdgxWns

Site Plan Control is being removed by Bill 23 for developments of 10 units or less. This means that these developments will not need to be approved for design concept, where the entrance/elevator/garbage locations are located, drainage from the property, and "landscaping" which would include preservation of natural elements (aka trees/green space), as well as the expectation that buildings will meet Green Energy Standards (if a municipality has a standard in place) The government states that removal of the Site Plan Control process is to expedite new developments to remove NIMBYism. There are many reasons why communities fight development.Some of them are very valid and important, such as the preservation of green space/trees, and the potential increase in neighborhood flooding. This is a short clip from the 2nd part of our Nov 4th meeting, Bill 23: Why Should You Care. Watch the full recording: Part 1: https://youtu.be/eR6mWd_wYl0 Part 2: https://youtu.be/6DIqFdgxWns

Bill 23: Why should you care? Great Big Bait and Switch Presentation by Phil Pothen, Environmental Defence. This is a short clip from our Nov 2nd meeting, Bill 23: Why Should You Care. Watch the full recording here: https://youtu.be/aCpfi38Awq8

This is the 2nd of 3 meetings to stay up-to-date on what Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, means to organizations, municipalities, and people across the province, as well as an opportunity to mobilize action. The focus of this meeting is on Green Development Standards, Municipal Planning, and Site Control Plan. Watch the recording of the 1st meeting here: https://youtu.be/eR6mWd_wYl0 Speakers: - Gabby Kalapos, Clean Air Partnerships - Jeff Henry, Waterloo city Councilor 2019-2022 and planner. Read Environmental Defense's Analysis of Bill 23: Ontario’s Housing Bill is Actually a Trojan Horse for Environmentally Catastrophic Rural Sprawl https://environmentaldefence.ca/2022/10/31/ontarios-housing-bill-is-actually-a-trojan-horse-for-environmentally-catastrophic-rural-sprawl/ Register for our newsletter to stay up to date. New information and meetings are always emerging https://www.50by30wr.ca/newsletter We need help getting more information out to organizations across Ontario and to the general public. Please contact us at 50by30waterlooregion@gmail.com if you can help.

Bill 23: Why Should You Care: Ontario Headwaters Institute "Some of the key changes: Removing upper tier planning co-ordination, creating chaos Removing requirements for public meetings and even public notice Weak provisions for affordable housing Reducing legal recourse through the Ontario Land Tribunal Prohibiting green development standards, a key aspect of how municipalities deal with density and climate change. Will allow development on wetlands and floodplains Conservations Authorities will not be able to consider the conservation of land or pollution Conservation Authorities will be barred from entering service agreements with municipalities Conservation Authorities will have to review their land and sell it off if it no longer qualifies for protection This is a clip of the longer meeting on Nov 8, 2022. This clip is available on our youtube channel.