Friends of One Mile Creek is among the 63 organizations across Ontario to express concerns about proposed changes by the provincial government to the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe and the Lands Needs Assessment Methodology. Both proposals were placed on the Environment Registry of Ontario on June 16, 2020, with comments due by July 31, 2020.
The response was co-ordinated by Ontario Nature and prepared by the Canadian Environmental Law Association and Environmental Defence.
Both proposals, if implemented, could cause significant adverse effects on the Greater Golden Horseshoe by facilitating urban sprawl, lead to an over-designation of land for urban growth, result in the unnecessary loss of farmlands, and destroy endangered and threatened species habitats.
The Greater Golden Horseshoe is one of the most biodiverse and heavily developed regions in Canada Anticipated growth must be carefully managed to sustain the health of our lands, waters and wildlife. It is home to at least a third of Ontario’s over 230 species at risk and has suffered extensive losses of wetlands, woodlands and other ecosystems. In Niagara region, for example, wetland loss exceeds 90 percent.
The Growth Plan is a unique land-use planning framework that proposes to balance urban growth with protection of the natural environment and farmland within the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Decision-makers, including municipal councils, as well as administrative tribunals, such as the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal, must ensure that planning decisions conform with provincial plans, or shall not conflict with them.
A PDF version of the submission is provided below.