‘This is high-level bombing and needs to be resisted’
Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark
Text of Crombie’s letter to Clark
The Honourable Steve Clark
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Dear Minister Clark,
It is with regret that I submit my resignation, effective immediately, as Chair and Member of the Greenbelt Council.
Recent actions taken by the Government in committee hearings on Bill 229 have confirmed that we differ fundamentally on policy directions affecting the Greenbelt.
You will recall that the Council had urged your Government on previous occasions to withdraw Schedule 6 from Bill 229. This advice is grounded in the view that Ontarians can successfully realize the great values and benefits of the Greenbelt through the effectiveness of watershed planning, the strength and resilience of the Conservation Authorities and the power of public participation and open debate.
It is now clear that the Government’s direction under Schedule 6 of Bill 229 disastrously assaults all three of these primary conditions. It cuts out the heart of integrated watershed planning and management; severely cripples the Conservation Authorities in the pursuit of their historic stewardship of environmental issues, and now with the grossly expanded use of Ministerial Zoning Orders (MZO) and other procedural revisions, essential public discussion and debate will be stifled or shut down.
This is not policy and institutional reform. This is high-level bombing and needs to be resisted.
Respectfully,
David Crombie
Chair, Greenbelt Council
Copies to:
The Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario
The Honourable Jeff Yurek, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
The Honourable John Yakabuski, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry
The Honourable Rod Phillips, Minister of Finance
Kate Manson-Smith, Deputy Minister
Greenbelt Council Members
Ed McDonnell, CEO, Greenbelt Foundation
Greater Golden Horseshoe stakeholders
See also:
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