Hold the Line, Smart Growth Waterloo Region, and the Waterloo Federation of Agriculture are calling on the councils of the Region of Waterloo and area municipalities to pass resolutions to reaffirm their commitment to smart growth and meaningful public consultations, and to reject the use of Bill 66.

The Province of Ontario’s proposed Bill 66 threatens Waterloo Region’s water quality and supply, agricultural and rural communities, natural ecosystems, and the continued smart growth of its urban cores. The bill would permit municipalities to allow business developments that don’t follow laws that protect our water, agriculture, and community development plans.

While the government’s bill claims to be an attempt to support business, it undermines one of Waterloo Region’s main industries. “The agricultural sector contributes over a half billion dollars to our local economy every year,” said Mark Reusser of the Waterloo Federation of Agriculture. “If developers can bypass agricultural protections, as Bill 66 would allow, it threatens our economy and our food supply.”

“The truth is that smart growth is key to our region’s prosperity,” added Kevin Thomason of Smart Growth Waterloo Region. “Since the Region of Waterloo adopted its smart growth approach in 2003, our unemployment rate has decreased from 5.9% to 5.1%, beating the national rate. More efficient use of infrastructure benefits everyone.”

All three organizations are especially alarmed that Bill 66 removes the requirement for public notice and public meetings with opportunity for community input, as well as the opportunity to appeal the decision.

“Our citizens expect communications and public meetings as well the having the ability to appeal bad decisions,” said Sam Nabi of Hold the Line. “But if Bill 66 becomes law, the only notice residents would receive of an impending development is when the first bulldozer arrives – with no opportunity for recourse or appeal. Our region keeps growing and we welcome that growth. But how and where this growth takes place must be a decision that we make intentionally and democratically together.”

The groups are urging citizens to speak up. Emails can be sent to both local and provincial governments at act.holdthelinewr.org. They also urge people across Ontario to watch for upcoming opportunities to work together against Bill 66 in our communities.

“We’re confident that our eight municipalities will continue to demonstrate leadership and have a formal vote to protect our farms, drinking water, natural ecosystems, and smart urban development,” added Nabi. 

Hold the Line is a local non-profit made up of artists, community builders, sustainability advocates, and Waterloo Region enthusiasts. They support the farms, towns, and natural spaces that make up the Region’s countryside, and the vibrant and dense urban cores that complement them.

Smart Growth Waterloo Region is a grassroots group started in 2013 by community members to raise awareness of and support for local and provincial smart growth policies. It represents community members of Waterloo who want to enjoy both thriving liveable cities and a sustainable countryside.

The Waterloo Federation of Agriculture is one of 52 county and regional federations supported by OFA across the province. Waterloo Federation of Agriculture represents the voice of agriculture in the local community and advocates on behalf of farm families in the Region of Waterloo on local agricultural issues. The goal of WFA is to promote the farm community in support of the innovation, hard work and compassion that is emblematic of the Region.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Sam Nabi, Director, Hold the Line: connect@holdthelinewr.org

Kevin Thomason, Director, Smart Growth Waterloo Region: media@smartgrowthwaterloo.ca

Mark Reusser, Vice-President, Waterloo Federation of Agriculture: markreusser@gmail.com

For Immediate Release

Waterloo Region, Ontario – Smart Growth Waterloo Region is pleased to see the
province release plans this morning that could expand the Greenbelt beyond the
Greater Toronto and Hamilton area, including into Waterloo Region.
Over the next 90 days, consultations will be held in Waterloo, Guelph, Brantford, and
other Ontario communities. The provincial government is looking for feedback from the
public on these important plans to protect the important water resources we all depend
on from the growing pressures of development.

“Our water is increasingly under threat from development and climate change,” states
Kevin Thomason from Smart Growth Waterloo Region. “Stronger protections for our
essential water sources will help to ensure the resilience and the future success of our
communities, particularly with the rapid growth that Waterloo Region is experiencing.”
The Greenbelt permanently protects lands from urbanization, helps to ensure the
integrity of our agricultural system and natural eco-systems, and is one of the largest
and most significant in the world. Protecting water in wetlands, streams, headwaters
and groundwater recharge areas such as the moraines is critical to providing
communities dependent on groundwater like ours with abundant, clean, and secure
drinking water supplies.

Local community and environmental groups have worked for years to secure provincial
support for and reinforcement of our local water and natural heritage protections such
as our Regional Official Plan, Protected Countryside and Countryside Line designations.
“Waterloo Region has lead with numerous environmental protection initiatives over the
past decade. As long as the strongest of local and provincial rules prevail, an expansion
of the Greenbelt to the Waterloo and Paris-Galt Moraines will provide multiple layers of protection for these critical groundwater recharge areas,” says Mike Boos, a co-founder
of Smart Growth Waterloo Region. “Our members have long advocated for vibrant
urban centers surrounded by thriving countryside and this announcement today
provides a proposal that could strengthen that balance.”

Polling consistently shows extremely strong support for the Greenbelt with more than
90% of Ontarians agreeing that the Greenbelt is one of the most important initiatives for
the future of the province, helping to protect farmland, rural communities, water
sources, and natural greenspace.

Smart Growth Waterloo Region anticipates that the Ministry of Municipal Affairs will
host a consultation and town hall meeting in Waterloo Region sometime in January or
February during this 90 day consultation period. We encourage local citizens as well as
local organizations to speak up and provide feedback to the government supporting this
important water protection initiative. To learn more please visit
smartgrowthwaterloo.ca or the government website at ontario.ca/greenbelt.

Smart Growth Waterloo Region is a grassroots group started in 2013 by community
members to raise awareness and support for local and provincial smart growth policies.

– 30 –

For more information or to arrange an interview please contact:

Kevin Thomason
Co-founder and Media Contact, Smart Growth Waterloo Region
Phone: 519-888-0519
Mobile Phone: 519-240-1648
E-mail: media@smartgrowthwaterloo.ca

smartgrowthwaterloo.ca

For Immediate Release

COMMUNITY MEMBERS ENCOURAGED BY LAND USE POLICY CHANGES, DISAPPOINTED TO BE LEFT OUT OF THE GREENBELT AGAIN

Waterloo Region, Ontario – Local community members are encouraged by the province’s proposed changes to provincial land use policies, but much more will need to be done to ensure Waterloo Region is included in the crucial protections of the Greenbelt.

Proposed changes announced by the government Tuesday afternoon address a number of the problems faced by the Region of Waterloo in its successful fight to defend its smart growth-based official plan over the last several years. These changes include standard provincial rules to determine whether agricultural and rural lands should be converted to urban uses.

“A number of these changes should help other Ontario communities adopt smart growth requirements the Region of Waterloo fought hard to protect in its battle with the OMB,” said Kate Daley, co-founder of Smart Growth Waterloo Region and Waterloo resident. “But we were hoping for a strong and immediate commitment to expanding the Greenbelt in Waterloo Region. That didn’t happen today.”

Waterloo Region is a prime area for Greenbelt expansion. Ontario’s Greenbelt, established in 2005, currently protects 1.8 million acres of land in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the area that surrounds the western end of Lake Ontario.

“After being left out of the original Greenbelt, despite multiple requests to be included, our communities and local governments spent the last decade creating and defending our own local Protected Countryside,” said Kevin Thomason, group co-founder and rural Wilmot resident. “So the work has already been done here. Because of our local protections, Greenbelt designation wouldn’t change anything on the ground for landowners, but it would add an important extra layer of protection for our sensitive natural and agricultural resources.”

The Province of Ontario’s Co-ordinated Land Use Planning Review, with a mandate to examine the four plans that govern land use in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, began last year with record public participation. Smart Growth Waterloo Region encourages community members to submit comments on the proposed changes, which cover a wide range of issues like infrastructure, agriculture, and climate change. Comments will be accepted by the provincial government until the end of September, and a series of open houses across the province will begin in Cambridge on May 31st.

Smart Growth Waterloo Region (www.smartgrowthwaterloo.ca) is a grassroots group started in 2013 by community members to raise awareness and support for local and provincial smart growth policies.

-30-

Media Contact:

Kevin Thomason
Phone: 519-888-0519
Mobile Phone: 519-240-1648
E-mail: media@smartgrowthwaterloo.ca

For Immediate Release

SMART GROWTH WATERLOO REGION PLEASED BY PROVINCIAL LAND USE REPORT

Waterloo Region, Ontario – Smart Growth Waterloo Region is pleased by recommendations to strengthen smart growth in Ontario from a provincial advisory panel led by David Crombie.

The report, from the advisory panel created by the provincial government for its 2015 Co-ordinated Land Use Planning Review, was released Monday. The panel’s 87 recommendations include increasing targets for accommodating more people in new and existing urban areas, mapping and protecting an integrated agricultural system, and extending provincial protections to sensitive areas like moraines and groundwater recharge areas.

“We’re encouraged that the provincial advisory panel has recognized the principles that we in Waterloo Region have already been putting into practice,” said Mike Boos, co-founder of Smart Growth Waterloo Region and Kitchener resident. “Waterloo Region has been leading the way with local efforts to grow up instead of out, and to create more liveable urban areas while protecting our countryside. We’re glad to see recommendations that support similar policies across a large part of Ontario.”

The Co-ordinated Land Use Planning Review was initiated earlier this year by the Province of Ontario, with a mandate to examine the four plans that govern land use in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the area spanning the west side of Lake Ontario.

“While we’re excited to see a strong endorsement of the goals of smart growth, we’re looking forward to specific proposals from the provincial government to put this great vision into practice,” said Kevin Thomason, group co-founder and rural Wilmot resident. “Thousands of people from across the province participated in the consultations leading up to this report, and they have been clear that these important provincial policies need to be strengthened. Now we need to make it happen.”

The second phase of the provincial review, including a second round of community consultation, is expected in early 2016.

Smart Growth Waterloo Region (www.smartgrowthwaterloo.ca) is a grassroots group started in 2013 by community members to raise awareness and support for local and provincial smart growth policies.

-30-

Media Contact:

Kevin Thomason
Phone: 519-888-0519
Mobile Phone: 519-240-1648
E-mail: media@smartgrowthwaterloo.ca

For Immediate Release

COMMUNITY MEMBERS SUPPORT OFFICIAL PLAN SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

Waterloo Region, Ontario – Local community members are expressing support for a settlement agreement between the Region of Waterloo and greenfield developers who have been fighting the Region’s new Official Plan.

“This agreement is a great accomplishment for Waterloo Region,” said Kevin Thomason, co-founder of Smart Growth Waterloo Region and rural Wilmot resident. “While it’s a compromise, it’s a good one that will allow our community to protect our most important rural areas while building more compact, livable cities. It’s a solid foundation for our future.”

“We’re relieved to see a made-in-Waterloo solution to the dangerous decision made by the Ontario Municipal Board in 2013,” added Kate Daley, Waterloo resident and group co-founder. “This deal protects us from relying on the provincial court system to clean up the mess left by the OMB, and allows our community to move forward with our commitment to growing up instead of out.”

In a 2013 decision, the Ontario Municipal Board had sided with greenfield developers who were asking for 1053 hectares of land to be opened for urban development by 2031. The Region had determined that 85 hectares was the right amount to reach the community’s goals by limiting urban sprawl. This agreement identifies 255 hectares to settle the original dispute, and a future 198 hectares to accommodate more recent higher population projections. This settlement must be approved by the OMB, and would end growth-related appeals of the Region’s Official Plan.

Smart Growth Waterloo Region (www.smartgrowthwaterloo.ca) is a grassroots group started in 2013 by local community members to raise awareness of the Ontario Municipal Board decision, and to encourage citizens to speak out to protect the Region’s smart growth policies.

-30-

Media Contact:

Kevin Thomason
Phone: 519-888-0519
Mobile Phone: 519-240-1648
E-mail: media@smartgrowthwaterloo.ca

For Immediate Release

LOCAL RESIDENTS CONCERNED ABOUT FAIRNESS AT THE OMB

Waterloo Region, Ontario – Local residents are expressing serious concern about the procedural fairness of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), upon learning that the Region of Waterloo is asking for a judicial review of a crucial OMB decision on procedural fairness grounds. Reports from August 13^th indicate that the Region of Waterloo has reason to believe inappropriate interaction may have occurred between the Ontario Municipal Board and the appellant’s primary witness in the OMB decision that decimated the Region’s democratically developed Official Plan.

“This is an alarming development,” said Kate Daley, co-founder of Smart Growth Waterloo Region and resident of Waterloo. “It was already clear that the OMB’s decision wasn’t in the interest of the people of Waterloo Region and the Province of Ontario. Now it seems we can’t even trust that this decision to overrule our democratically elected representatives was made within the basic standards of procedural fairness. Our democratic system depends on that trust.”

“We expect that it will take the courts some time to sort through the mess left by the OMB,” added Kevin Thomason, rural Wilmot resident and site co-founder. “We’re encouraging people across the province to stay informed about this landmark case as it moves forward, and to make it clear to their elected officials that they care about supporting and protecting smart growth in their communities.”

January’s Ontario Municipal Board ruling (PL110080) in favour of developers and against the Region of Waterloo’s Official Plan requires the Region to open up eleven times more land to urban sprawl between now and 2031, and creates a precedent that threatens the province’s Places to Grow Growth Plan and democratic local decision-making across Ontario. The Region has been fighting this dangerous decision in court.

Smart Growth Waterloo Region, hosted at www.smartgrowthwaterloo.ca, is a website launched by local residents to raise awareness of the Ontario Municipal Board decision, and to encourage citizens to speak out and take action against the ruling.

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Media Contacts:

Kate Daley or Mike Boos
E-mail: media@smartgrowthwaterloo.ca