Thread by @WrayAJ

🚨🚨🚨 A THREAD about the proposed "Open-For-Business" bylaw in Ontario 🚨🚨🚨

For those unaware, the Ontario Gov't has introducted today Bill 66: Restoring Ontario's Competiveness Act and it is... well... big and scary
ola.org/en/legislative…

I will focus on Schedule 10, which is proposed changes to acts and regulations related the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Kudos to @sachaforstner for bringing this Bill to my attention.

To start, here is a list of the proposed changes (among many others to many other acts):

To start, the proposed changes essentially create the perfect "get-out-of-responsible-land-use-planning" card for municipal councils. They pass a bylaw declaring themselves "OPEN FOR BUSINESS" (OFBB for short) and badda boom badda bing, exempt from all the things

So what are the exemptions?

Well, let's start with the Planning Act. First s.3(5): conformance to provincial policy statements and plans. Now, pass the OFBB and tada no more does Council need to conform with the PPS, Greenbelt Plan, Oak Ridge Moraine Plan, or Places to Grow

Next, s24 - all of it, GONE! Pass the OFBB and now your public works and other bylaws don't have to conform with your official plan.

**side note** s24(1) is worded in a way that seems to prevent this exact sort of "exemption" - with only way of getting around it through repeal

Next, the pesky zoning bylaw itself... Well folks, OFBB just straight up inserts itself on top of s34(10) through (34) like a developer getting approval on a pre-serviced greenfield

This means bye-bye too:
The 2-year ZB amendment holiday
Public notice & consultation
Prescribed reports & studies
Refusal due to deficient info
Alternative dispute resolution

🚨 All forms of appeals to LPAT 🚨

Go look yourself (scroll to (10.0.0.1)): ontario.ca/laws/statute/9…

Also, Councils may know lift themselves of the burden of the (H) symbol in s36, the NIMBY dream, the developer's dread, the H. O. L. D. I. N. G. provision.

This one may actually be a double-edged sword, with NIMBY councils losing a simple tool to stall development applications

AHAHA you thought Ford was still going to let these Councils gain public benefits (art, daycares, public squares, etc) through density bonusing. WRONG. SAY GOODBYE TO THE s37 MUNICIPAL GRAVY TRAIN... CHOO CHOO MOTHERFUCKERS 🚂🚂🚂🚂

Ok ***intermission*** while I go through the changes to all the other acts...

And we are back with probably the biggest crime of them all contained in this bill. Yes I just used the word "crime" - as in a serious criminal act likely to result in death and severe injuries.

They are exempting municipal planning decisions from s39 of THE CLEAN WATER ACT:

Yes. THAT ACT. The one introduced after Walkerton, one of the largest public health disasters in Canada. They are straight up exempting municipalities from having to conform to source protection plans. The very policies that have saved countless lives from chemical exposures.

Honestly, I didn't know they would have the guts to do this. And I am very worried for my own health right now. If this goes through and municipalities do pass this bylaw:

People. Will. Die.

from cholera, e.coli, chemical poisoning, among other horrid diseases we eliminated

In related news. Ford just gave a big'ole middle finger to the Great Lakes. Councils can now exempt themselves from s20 of the Great Lakes Protection Act, which states they must conform to policy initiatives passed to protect literally Canada's greatest single natural resource

Oh you thought that election promise Ford made about not opening up the Greenbelt to development. AHAHAHAHA. LOL.

Councils may now pave paradise to put up parking lots should they so wish.

Honestly, at this point I'm fucking done. Ford is going to straight up just going to bulldoze 20 years of progress in Ontario land use planning and environmental protection in one fell swoop.

Alas, we still have 6 more Acts' worth of exemptions to go through...

s6 of the Lake Simcoe Protection Act. OFBB exempts from planning requirements. Apparently the largest inland body of freshwater in Southern Ontario was not safe either.

LOL we made it. Ford's "Fuck Toronto" section of the bill. Municipalities may now exempt themselves from the Metrolinx Big Move and any other transportation planning policy statement.

In somewhat good news, Toronto can now create tolled highways if they were to take the poison pill of the entire OFBB setup.

But it also limits them from using site plan control areas, which is used in Toronto to control for the issues that "city block size" buildings cause...

Rounding out the final exemptions:
- same deal as Greenbelt Act with the Oak Ridges Moraine Act s7
- Planning boards exempted from conforming to plans under s13 of OPDA
- Exempt from Renewable Resource and Circular Economy s12 which controls waste management!

So in summary, Bill 66 allows municipalities to exempt themselves from a truckload of provincial planning controls with one bylaw.

Thus, defeating the purpose of said controls as communities that drove the regulation in the first place will now line up to be exempted!

A repeal all but in name for sure.

They also have essentially given a poison pill to Toronto. Pass the OFBB so developers can run wild, and let Tory avoid raising property taxes by allowing him to toll a very lucrative Allen, Gardiner and DVP.

Combine this with the proposed uploading of TTC to province, removal of rent control, and changes to Toronto City Council this Bill is practically Order 66...

Ford is Palpatine, municipal councils are the Stormtroopers, and the poor hapless worn-down planner is the Jedi.

I apologize for all the typos in this thread. I was very “engaged” with sharing the content rather than the style 😶

Addendum: Waterfront TO Board will be fully replaced cause Ford also wants his Ferris wheel...

https://twitter.com/joshokane/status/1070876470585815040?s=21