Dear Editor:
Every Ontarian who cares about democracy and leaving a livable province for our children and grandkids should be up in arms about Premier Ford’s Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act.
Among its truckload of shortcomings, this bill steals precious land from the Greenbelt, even though the government doesn’t need to expand a single urban boundary to meet future housing needs – that’s a Doug Ford-manufactured myth.
Bill 23 also silences local conservation authorities and citizens’ groups with legitimate concerns about issues like gravel pits, and it overrides municipal planning decisions right across Ontario. And experts say it won’t deliver the affordable housing we so desperately need.
Plus, in this age of increasing climate havoc, Bill 23 will almost certainly wipe out green building standards in cities and towns where they already exist, and it will prevent other communities from mandating strong new standards.
This legislation also curtails municipal councils from collecting development fees that are so crucial to funding the capital costs of infrastructure and services for new housing, and financing other improvements to their communities, including action on climate change readiness.
So, fellow citizens, even if you have never raised your voices before but appreciate democracy, yearn for more affordable housing and want to leave your kids an intact Greenbelt, now’s the time, as Mr. Ford is rushing to get this done by mid-December. Google “fight Bill 23” to find many organizations taking action.
Bill 23 has got to go – or at least go back to the drawing board for a radical makeover.
Liz Armstrong,
Erin