FUN ADVOCACY POSITIONS

This is to express our comments and concerns on the above noted proposal to implement the part of Bill 5 focusing on Special Economic Zones Criteria. We continue to support respect for the rule of law, particularly with respect to Indigenous sovereignty which requires free, prior, and informed consent, and the critical importance of protecting biodiversity and environmental rights.

The proposed regulatory criteria for Special Economic Zones (SEZ) rely on “Minister’s opinion”, substituting subjectivity for objective evidence, and lacking a transparent process for assessing health, environmental, social, and economic consequences of implementing a project proposal.

This is to express the strong objection and concern of the Federation of Urban Neighbourhoods (Ontario) regarding the Region of Halton’s recent decision to dismantle the Region’s artifact collection, representing both the loss of a coherent regional heritage collection, and potentially the breaking of a public trust commitment to care for an object, which was established when it was accessioned.

We also object to the manner in which the decision was made – in closed session without public input. We request that you urgently reconsider the Region’s decision.

FUN recognizes the significant fiscal challenges facing the Government of Ontario, some representing continuing impacts of the COVID pandemic. We also believe that investing in and maintaining physical, social health and environmental infrastructure, all the while addressing the Climate Emergency are critical to the future wellbeing of all Ontario residents.

However, we are choosing to focus at this time on four matters: the growing Housing Market and Housing Affordability issue, Growing Protected Areas, Save Ontario Place, and Save the Ontario Science Centre.

FUN AGM Presentation – Saturday, June 18, 2022

Guest Speaker: Graham Churchill, Executive Director, A Better Richmond Hill

Sprawl, Tall, or Infill – Are These Really Our Only Choices

With the Ontario government expecting the GTA to grow by an additional 2.9M people in the next 25 years, we need a sensible growth plan. The politicians aren’t doing it so citizen groups need to come together to create one. Graham Churchill has a plan, and he’s looking for like-minded community groups to help refine it.

Question 1:

• What are the biggest barriers and delays to diversifying the types of housing built in existing neighbourhoods?

Response

The question is built on several assumptions – which are unproven:

1. That the housing price issue can be solved through increasing supply.  Instead we need to address the demand issues, such as land speculation e.g. flipping, vacant housing, the real estate industry practices that force up prices;
2. That there is a housing shortage when in fact the number of homes increased at a greater rate than population;

The Federation of Urban Neighbourhoods (Ontario) is an umbrella group of community associations throughout Ontario. As such we maintain a close interest in the changes to provincial planning legislation introduced by the Government. The latest changes amount to another massive overhaul of the planning process and a new set of directives focussed on supply, rather than demand for homes, but in addition, reducing the role of duly elected municipal councils, and attacking residents who devote their time and energy to contribute to their communities’ development.

The Government’s policy changes, including moving forward with Highway 413, and making municipalities designate more farmland for development, have favoured companies looking to build low-density sprawl outside Toronto.

RE: Proposed Bradford Bypass Project

We wish to advise you of our strong opposition to this project, a four lane 400 series highway, misnamed as the Bradford Bypass. In May 2021, Minister Wilkinson made a determination that the Bradford Bypass Project did not warrant designation under the federal Impact Assessment Act. The reasons for the decision, are specified in the Minister’s Response on the Designation Request for the Bradford Bypass Project.

While these are undoubtably valid reasons, we feel strongly that this project deserves a similar calibre study as the Highway 413 project.

This is to advise you that the Federation of Urban Neighbourhoods has serious concerns with the proposal to proceed with the Highway 413. It represents the start of what is in essence a whole new 400 series highway system north of Toronto that we believe will have major negative implications for the residents of the Town of Caledon. 

Our concerns can be summarized as follows:

1. The highway, if built, would encourage and facilitate an unprecedented level of urban sprawl in the GTA, which would destroy important green spaces and prime farmland.
2. People who live along the highway route (your residents) will suffer health impacts.
3. Commuters will see diminishing benefits from the highway (due to induced demand). And in any case the pandemic has drastically changed our commuting patterns.
4. It will incur a significant cost to taxpayers which will be borne by the Provincial Government alone (the Federal Government has indicated it will NOT cost-share).