At the Committee of the Whole meeting held on May 9, 2019, Mayor Mrakas gave notice of his intention to bring forward the following motion at this meeting of Council:
WHEREAS the legislation that abolished the Ontario Municipal Board and replaced it with the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal received unanimous – all party support; and
WHEREAS all parties recognized that local governments should have the authority to uphold their provincially approved Official Plans; to uphold their community driven planning; and
WHEREAS Bill 108 will once again allow an unelected, unaccountable body make decisions on how our communities evolve and grow; and
WHEREAS on August 21, 2018 Minister Clark once again signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and entered into “...a legally binding agreement recognizing Ontario Municipalities as a mature, accountable order of government.”; and
WHEREAS this Memorandum of Understanding is “enshrined in law as part of the Municipal Act”. And recognizes that as “...public policy issues are complex and thus require coordinated responses...the Province endorses the principle of regular consultation between Ontario and municipalities in relation to matters of mutual interest”; and
WHEREAS by signing this agreement, the Province made “...a commitment to cooperating with its municipal governments in considering new legislation or regulations that will have a municipal impact”; and
WHEREAS Bill 108 will impact 15 different Acts - Cannabis Control Act, 2017, Conservation Authorities Act, Development Charges Act, Education Act, Endangered Species Act, 2007, Environmental Assessment Act, Environmental Protection Act, Labour Relations Act, 1995, Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Act, 2017, Municipal Act, 2001, Occupational Health and Safety Act, Ontario Heritage Act, Ontario Water Resources Act, Planning Act, Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.
THEREFORE be it resolved that:
- The Regional Municipality of York oppose Bill 108 which in its current state will have negative consequences on community building and proper planning.
- The Regional Municipality of York call upon the Government of Ontario to halt the legislative advancement of Bill 108 to enable fulsome consultation with Municipalities to ensure that its objectives for sound decision making for housing growth that meets local needs will be reasonably achieved.
- A copy of this Motion be sent to the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, The Honourable Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier, the Honourable Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs, the Honourable Andrea Horwath, Leader of the New Democratic Party, and all MPPs in the Province of Ontario.
- A copy of this Motion be sent to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and all Ontario municipalities for their consideration.