Nith Valley EcoBoosters
(1) On January 24, 2021 we endorsed a submission from Ontario Nature to the Ontario Government regarding the government’s current consultation on Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs). MZOs allow the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to directly zone land for particular purposes without public notice or consultation or the right to appeal. There has been a sharp increase in the use of MZOs over the past year, opening the door to controversial developments on agricultural lands and significant natural areas. Here is a copy of the submission: http://nvecoboosters.com/MZO.pdf
(2) We have sent a letter to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing in support of the Township of Wilmot's application to implement a sanitary backwater valve program for residences and businesses located in the floodplain in New Hamburg. We applaud the Township for taking these steps to mitigate the effects of flooding. Here is a copy of the letter that was sent: http://nvecoboosters.com/valves.pdf
(3) We have sent a letter to Mike Harris, MPP Kitchener-Conestoga, to request that he oppose and urge the removal of Schedule 6 in Bill 229, the proposed changes to the Conservation Authorities Act which would undermine efforts to conserve biodiversity and build resilience to climate change impacts. We also urged Mr. Harris to support proposals to protect more farmland, natural areas and freshwater sources. Here is a copy of the letter that was sent: http://nvecoboosters.com/ConsAuth.pdf
(4) We have endorsed a letter that opposes the Ontario Government’s proposal to remove the prohibition on aggregate extraction in the habitat of threatened and endangered species in the regional Natural Heritage System of the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
Here is the letter that was sent to Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, and copied to Ministers Yurek (MECP) and Yakabuski (MNRF), the Commissioner of the Environment, the leaders of the other major political parties, and the federal Minister of the Environment: http://nvecoboosters.com/growthplan.pdf
In addition to the letter mentioned above, we have also endorsed an Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) submission that opposes the Ontario Government’s proposed changes to the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe area. It includes the aggregates issue discussed in the letter, but other issues as well, and it is part of the official public consultation. It was written by the Canadian Environmental Law Association, with input from Ontario Nature and Environmental Defence.
- The Growth Plan was established in 2006 to better manage growth and protect the natural environment across the Greater Golden Horseshoe, one of the fastest growing regions in North America and home to at least a third of Ontario’s species at risk. After extensive public consultation, the plan was amended in 2017 to include, among other changes, a regional Natural Heritage System offering a higher level of protection for key hydrologic and natural features and areas. The government is now proposing to undermine this higher level of protection by removing the Growth Plan policy that prohibits aggregate operations and wayside pits and quarries in the habitat of endangered and threatened species throughout the Natural Heritage System. These proposed changes will also lead to more sprawl, more gridlock, more flooding, and less greenspace and farmland. Here is the document opposing these proposed changes that was sent to the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO): http://nvecoboosters.com/growthplanERO.pdf
(5) As part of our community activity, we are supporting the group Citizens for Safe Groundwater who are opposing the approval of a gravel pit in our community. To support their position, we submitted the following letter to the Township of Wilmot:
(6) Along with 111 other organizations, we are requesting that the Government of Ontario retain the current mandate of the province’s 36 Conservation Authorities in protecting, restoring, and managing the watersheds where 95 percent of Ontarians reside. The following letter was sent to Premier Doug Ford on behalf of all 112 Ontario organizations: