GBA 2021 - Spring Update

9 www.georgianbay.ca GBA UPDATE Spring 2021 vital for preserving water quality, preventing flooding, and maintaining numerous other environmental protections. Instead, the government snuck through Bill 229 that effectively gutted the CAs from the budget and eliminated public consultation on these major changes. See details here: georgianbay.ca/government-affairs/planning-and- environmental-protections/conservation-authorities/ . There are nine conservation authorities that impact the Lake Huron basin, five of which directly impact Georgian Bay. ≥ The Auditor General for Ontario (AGO) took over the responsibilities of the Environment Commissioner after the Ford government cancelled that post. If the Ford government thought that this would lead to less (official) criticism of its environmental policies, it backfired. After publicly criticizing the government for not following the required process under the EBR for changes to the Environmental Assessment Act, the AGO’s 2020 Annual Report of Environmental Value-for-Money Audits and the Operation of the Environmental Bill of Rights was sharply critical of the Ford administration’s performance across the board. The deficiencies demonstrate clearly the low priority that this Ontario government affords to environmental protection and how it has attempted to stifle public input by either cancelling public input outright, or by providing the shortest times possible to respond to EBR postings. It is vital for protecting Georgian Bay that we are able to provide this input on projects and policies that could impact our environment, so the AGO report was most welcome. Details can be found here: georgianbay. ca/government-affairs/planning-and-environmental- protections/ . ≥ Since the EBR process was not properly followed, GBA took the opportunity to add its voice to comments submitted to the Ontario government on the proposed changes to the Environmental Assessment Act by a large group of NGOs. These changes could lead to inadequate environmental assessments (EAs) for development projects in Georgian Bay, or remove the EA requirement entirely. Often, public input on the EA process is the only means GBA, you, and your associations have of ensuring that development projects do not damage the environment. ≥ GBA has added its voice objecting to the Ontario government’s application of Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs) to override normal planning and environmental approval processes to facilitate development projects on provincially significantly wetlands. Approximately triple the number of MZOs were issued in 2019/2020 than were issued, in total, in the preceding 15 years. MZOs bypass municipal rules and regulations, require no public notice, no public comment process, and are not subject to appeal. Therefore, this use of MZOs, particularly to compromise, and in some cases destroy, important wetlands, sets a dangerous precedent. Given the paramount importance of our Georgian Bay wetlands and the need to protect them, we will be following this issue closely and reporting to you on any upcoming threats. ≥ In addition to the above, the Ontario government has implemented other reductions in, and removals of, environmental protections that are of potential concern to Georgian Bay and its watershed, such as: • Repealing the Toxics Reduction Act • Easing gravel extraction regulations • Implementing changes to the Forestry Act that favour that industry, including exempting forestry operations from the Species at Risk Act Although this is all quite alarming, there has not been any specific impact on Georgian Bay to date. However, given the development pressures we already face in the Bay, having the Ontario government actively supporting developers and industry to the detriment of the environment will add to the challenges we face in protecting our environment.