Melanie Duckett-Wilson, a representative of Climate Action Newmarket-Aurora, said she is concerned about seeing fewer animals in the wild than she once did.
She recalled recently seeing a heron on Newmarket’s Tom Taylor Trail. Duckett-Wilson said she worries about the implications that new provincial legislation could have regarding habitat loss and what that might mean for some animal species.
Environmentalists like her are protesting Bill 5. While the provincial bill is trying to drive forward development and remove “red tape” to allow housing to progress, she said it goes too far in removing protection from endangered species.
“I can’t remember the last time I saw a bat at dusk or heard an owl or a woodpecker,” she said. “Endangered species are not red tape. Clean water and spaces are not red tape. And this (Newmarket municipal) council is not red tape.”
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor is sending a letter to the province outlining concerns with Bill 5 and Bill 17 and their implications, after a council motion June 2. This motion came after a delegation from Climate Action Newmarket-Aurora June 2, asking the local council to take a stand against the legislation.
Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, seeks amendments to make development easier, but it has garnered criticism over removing municipal planning authority and conservation protections. The act seeks to create “special economic zones” that could enable a project to bypass requirements under any legislation, including municipal laws.
The legislation also makes changes to the Endangered Species Act to change the definition of habitat and give the Lieutenant Governor discretion over whether species designated as at risk by Ontario’s scientific committee must be officially listed — removing what was previously a mandatory process.
The province has said the legislation is needed to better streamline processes, emphasizing mining projects.
"In the face of current Ontario-U.S. trade tensions, it can no longer be business as usual. We are cutting red tape to unlock our critical minerals and unleash our economy to create new jobs and opportunities in the north and across the province," Premier Doug Ford said in an April 17 news release.
Bill 17, the Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, makes further changes around development and municipal development charges, including allowing for more developments to get charge deferrals.
Taylor said these bills are complicated and raise a lot of questions. While council did not back an outright formal opposition as suggested by Climate Action Newmarket-Aurora, Taylor suggested he could write letter to outline concerns the town has with the legislation.
“I do not disagree with the intent, what I hope is the intent with it,” Taylor said about the legislation, adding that housing development needs to happen faster. “This is drinking from the firehose. I can’t parse it quickly enough.”
He said that while there are parts of this legislation that might make sense, there are others that he has concerns about or just does not understand. Of note, he said that the legislation, as it reads, could remove a back-and-forth municipality can have with developers about required studies they submit, which means that planning issues could get missed due to inadequate studies.
Councillor Christina Bisanz said her big question is why the province is making a “rush” for such “sweeping” legislation.
She also questioned the municipal authority being taken away.
“I just don’t see the rationale and why they have to be so widesweeping, and that’s very concerning," she said. “It just doesn’t seem to have a real basis in need to eliminate barriers that perhaps could be addressed in other ways."
