02/05/2024
FORD IS UP TO NO GOOD AGAIN!
The cost of no environmental oversight will be at the cost of future generations when our fresh water and air quality is greatly compromised in my opinion, and there is no turning back.
BREAKING: documents show Ontario may move to allow expropriation of land before environmental review.
Credit: the Narwhal
By Emma McIntosh and Fatima Syed
Feb. 2, 2024
The Ontario government is mulling changes to environmental laws it believes will block lawsuits from landowners and fast-track highway, energy and transit projects.
According to an internal government document reviewed by The Narwhal, the change is expected to be announced as part of an omnibus bill in February, referred to as the Get It Done Act. It includes new proposed tools that could make it easier for the government to allow for expropriation of land to proceed with major infrastructure projects — a change the document notes could be viewed as “further weakening” of Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act.
Other changes could reinstate decisions to impose urban sprawl onto green space and farmland in some southern Ontario communities.
The document refers to the bill as the Get It Done Act, and says the government plans to release it when the legislature returns in February — with changes that could also reinstate decisions to impose urban sprawl onto green space in some southern Ontario communities.
The document says 10 provincial ministries would be involved in promoting the plan through “a proactive communications approach” by emphasizing measures in the bill that could save Ontarians small amounts of money. One such measure would continue a freeze on renewal fees for driver’s licences originally announced in 2018, which saves drivers $7 every five years. Others would block the possibility of new tolls on new provincial highways and automate the licence plate renewal process.
The Narwhal asked the Premier’s Office and the ministries of Environment, Transportation and Infrastructure detailed questions about the government’s plan over the course of several days this week. None responded.
The move to explicitly allow expropriation of land before obtaining certain approvals is aimed at preventing potential court challenges from bogging down construction of flagship provincial projects like Highway 413, the Bradford Bypass and new transit lines — and to enable what the document says the government is already doing, despite uncertainty about whether it’s legal. The government’s internal estimates suggest the move could shave six to 18 months off the timeline for a major infrastructure project. According to the document, such legal challenges can cost the government approximately $25,000 per case.
These changes come as the Progressive Conservative government, led by Premier Doug Ford, reaches the halfway point in its second term without having made substantial progress on some of its biggest infrastructure promises, despite touting “historic” investments and a flurry of bills it said would reduce red tape. The document suggests Ontarians have “limited” awareness of that narrative, noting that internal government polling from December found 49 per cent of Ontarians were unable to name a single infrastructure project in the province.
Highway 413, a pillar of Ford’s 2022 re-election campaign, has barely moved forward in nearly three years, mired in a federal review. The government has rolled back several moves meant to encourage rapid housing construction, including cuts to Ontario’s protected Greenbelt, while the government is still figuring out how to implement many of the changes meant to streamline development in Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act. And while work has advanced on other projects, like the Bradford Bypass, the redevelopment of a former amusement park at Ontario Place on Toronto’s waterfront and several light rail lines, many are also caught in delays and controversy.
It is unclear if changes in the new bill, if passed, would speed up any of these projects. The internal document cites legal advice that says without changing the law to explicitly allow expropriation before environmental approvals, there’s a risk the courts would find “it is prohibited.” It also notes some landowners may view this as “further government overreach in respect of private property rights.”
The Narwhal has learned the government is considering the plan despite internal warnings it could face blowback from Indigenous communities and municipalities that could still land the province in court.
The confidential document notes the public might raise concerns about whether the government is allowing the expropriation of more land than what is actually needed for major projects. It also suggests some Ontarians may view the moves as harmful to the environment and think the environmental assessment process “is being compromised.”
Ford’s office didn’t respond to questions from The Narwhal about whether his government has consulted municipalities, Indigenous communities or the public about its plan. The document said the government plans to post the proposal online for public consultation for 30 days after introducing it.
The document includes an assessment of how various stakeholders — including landowners, environmental groups, other levels of government, Indigenous communities and industry — are expected to react to various proposals.
It also suggests the government is seeking to counter any public skepticism about its plans by promoting a “narrative” in an advertising blitz about the importance of infrastructure investments. An initial ad campaign to lay the groundwork for the bill, referenced in the document, appears to have launched in January with the slogan “It’s happening here.”
“Ontario will get it done by making it easier to build the infrastructure we need to power and support Ontario’s growing population. If passed, new legislative and regulatory tools would create conditions to plan, approve and build projects faster,” the document says. “Now, more than ever, we need to keep costs down for people and businesses while building Ontario for the future. We are helping people keep money in their pockets by ensuring no new tolls now and in the future and freezing fees on driver’s licences and Ontario photo cards. We are also making it easier for drivers by automating the licence plate renewal process.”
Overall, the document says the legislation, if passed, will “make it faster to build and easier to save money.”
