NEWS

FUN’s oral submission to the 2018 Budget Consultation

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Resident associations are concerned about maintaining and improving quality of life for all residents in our communities. This is critically important today as cities compete for growth. We are reminded of this with the race for the selection of a second HQ for Amazon. The competition is as much about quality of life, physical, social and economic equity, and healthy cities, as anything else. Having a well planned city that has views, landmarks, heritage, recreation opportunities, the ability to move safely and efficiently using alternative modes of transportation are all important.

FUN Supports FoNTRA’s Submission on the Development Approval Roundtable Action Plan, November 2017

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FoNTRA logo

The Federation of North Toronto Residents Associations, FoNTRA, wishes to express its comments on the above noted initiative, which was established under the 16-point Housing Action Plan with senior representation from the province, GTHA, municipalities, and the development and real estate industries1 but without any public input or engagement!

FUN opposed to proposed GTA highway and supports the Environmental Defence submission.

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Stop Highway 413

The Ontario government is about to make a big decision that will tell us a lot about what the future of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area will look like. The reason is that, according to the Ministry of Transportation (MTO), the fate of the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the GTA West, AKA Highway 413, will be decided within the next 60 days.

The EA estimates the highway will cost $4 to $6 billion to construct, excluding the expense of land expropriation and ongoing highway maintenance.

FUN supports FoNTRA on OMB Reform

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Our organization was founded 17 years ago, in part, over the frustration felt by community and neighbourhood associations from across Ontario over the use of the OMB tribunals by the development industry to overturn local official plans and even provincial policies. This was accomplished by developers taking advantage of procedural changes over the years at the OMB: changes which favoured “expert” evidence that less well-funded respondents (and even some local authorities) lacked the money and resources to challenge…

Queen’s Park Update – May 7, 2017

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SpreadofDevelopment

For the last 5 years, elements of the development sector have invested significantly and intensively in mounting a multi-faceted communications campaign to undermine the Growth Plan and Greenbelt Plan. The campaign is comprised of:

– the commissioning and/or funding of reports and publications conveying incomplete, selective and/or inaccurate information;
– rhetorical opinion pieces released through various media, presentations and conferences; and,
– intensive lobbying of elected representatives and senior executives at both the provincial and municipal levels – relying on materials based on the reports/publications described above.

Ontario Bill 2: Prohibiting political contributions from corporations and trade unions

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This Explanatory Note was written as a reader’s aid to Bill 2 and does not form part of the law. Bill 2 has been enacted as Chapter 22 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2016.

A number of amendments are made to the Election Finances Act. Among them:

1. Corporations and trade unions are prohibited from making contributions to parties, constituency associations, nomination contestants, candidates and leadership contestants. Contribution limits for individuals are reduced.

2. “Nomination contestants” — persons seeking to be endorsed as a party’s candidate in an electoral district — are brought within the Act, on and from July 1, 2017.

3. Quarterly allowances are made payable to registered parties and constituency associations.

4. The rules regarding loans and loan guarantees are made more restrictive….

FONTRA Submission on the Review of the OMB

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FoNTRA logo

While FoNTRA shares many of the key concerns regarding the current role and operation of the OMB put forward by advocates for the abolishment of the OMB or the removal of Toronto from its jurisdiction, it does not support these initiatives since the broader need for significant provincial planning reform is not being addressed by these moves. Furthermore, FoNTRA sees the right to appeal certain municipal decisions to an independent body as being of paramount importance in a public process that is to respect procedural fairness for all actors. Experience has shown that residents are regularly called upon to defend city policies and regulations when city council and/or planning staff fail to do so.

FUN Submission Re: The Ontario Municipal Board – September 30, 2016

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September 30, 2016 Submission Re: The Ontario Municipal Board Should the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) be abolished? The Federation of Urban Neighbourhoods (FUN) believes that it should be retained, as alternatives would be more expensive and difficult to use. What is needed are major reforms that address the concerns of the community. The OMB was … Read more

Sewell on City Hall

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Mirvish Village

Community groups are rightly flummoxed when a development they are opposed to is pushed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) for a decision.

Should the group start raising $20,000 or more to retain a lawyer to fight on its behalf? Is there any chance the board will be influenced by community concerns? Does it matter what city planners say about the development? Can the group win at the OMB?

I’m often approached by groups facing these questions, and my advice is that it’s difficult to create enough sympathy to raise the money and retain a lawyer. In any case, having a lawyer at the hearing on its own rarely gives a group much chance for success.

FUN Supports FoNTRA on Co-ordinated Land Use Planning Review (CLUPR)

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Land use in the greater golden horseshoe

The Federation of North Toronto Residents Associations (FoNTRA) provides its comments on the proposed changes to the four provincial Land Use Plans:

The Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe,
The Greenbelt Plan,
The Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, and
The Niagara Escarpment Plan.

The proposed changes follow a provincial review aimed at improving the laws passed to permanently protect agricultural and natural lands, and promote smart development in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. They are intended to allow communities to continue to grow while minimizing impacts of urban growth on productive farmland, heritage buildings and landscapes, archeological resources, green spaces, and important natural areas.