The Ontario legislature passed Bill 197 in July 2020 despite objections from opposition parties and a warning about the legality of the legislation from the auditor general. Aimed at stimulating economic growth, the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, 2020 amended 20 existing pieces of legislation including the Environmental Assessment (EA) process, to facilitate development and expanded the province’s power to use minister’s zoning orders (MZOs).
GBA strongly opposes the changes to the EA process contained in this bill, and continues to work with key players involved in these challenges.