CALL TO ACTION - Why We Need to Oppose the Government of Ontario’s Bill 17 - Now
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities’ mission statement includes protection of the market and a new Bill from the Ontario Government poses a threat to the Ontario market. More than fifteen municipalities across Ontario have developed Green Building Standards which aim to make new buildings more energy efficient, improve the public realm, provide greater resilience to climate change impacts like flooding, protect human health, and as a result have also created thousands of local and regional jobs. Cities such as Mississauga, Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, Durham, London and Vaughan have all taken steps to address and mitigate the impacts of the built environment on the climate crisis and enhance the sustainable development market. Bill 17, the proposed ‘Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act’, aims in part to disenfranchise municipalities and undermine or eliminate their ability to protect health, safety, and the environment by “clarifying” that municipalities do not have jurisdiction to determine their own best course of action, for example, by setting green development standards.
Due to the unclear language of the Bill, the precise intent remains a mystery and the need for more specific regulations, but Bill 17 is intended to override green building performance standards in Toronto and elsewhere. This would result in higher costs for building owners down the road due to a loss of energy efficiency upgrades, and a loss of green roof area, much of which is now being implemented to support stormwater management and biodiversity. A loss of green roofs and other landscaping standards will mean fewer products from the nursery and landscaping industry.
Green building standards also require more integrated design practices, which support higher performance buildings at lower costs. An analysis of the Toronto Green Standard (TGS), which has been applied to more than 4,000 building applications since 2010, has shown that many of the required measures actually save developers money, and that overall, the TGS has not slowed development.
Make your voice heard to protect green building standards now, because this legislation is being rushed through the process. Wednesday June 4 is the deadline for comments, but you can call your MPP anytime to voice your concerns about this bill and support the right of local governments to implement green development standards.
Go to https://ero.ontario.ca/ to make a comment. The reference number is 025-0462.
Call your MPP and voice your concerns about the Bill and its impact on green development standards which support blenders of substrates and nurseries around Ontario. Find your Ontario MPP here: https://www.ola.org/en/members/current.
Sign on to the Atmospheric Funds letter here: https://taf.ca/save-green-development-standards-in-bill-17-form/
Ontario’s Bill 17 will undermine cities and their authority to protect public health, safety, and environmental well-being.
We have serious concerns about the elimination of critical checks and balances from the development process. This bill risks:
Green development standards
Energy affordability
Healthy homes
Low-carbon growth
Unbiased development reviews
Add your voice to the letter of recommended amendments by Wednesday, June 4 to share your concerns with Minister Flack:
https://taf.ca/save-green-development-standards-in-bill-17-form/
Thank you!
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
Additional Online Resources:
From the Living Architecture Monitor
