Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca promises to end Premier Doug Ford’s MZOs if elected

Thestar.com
Nov. 30, 2021

MZOs will be DOA if the Ontario Liberals win the June election.

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca said he would end the practice of using minister’s zoning orders to override local planning decisions.

While MZOs have been around for decades, Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives have dramatically increased their use in order to expedite development.

“Doug Ford has weaponized MZOs and is abusing his power to attack our environment and reward the well-connected few,” Del Duca said Tuesday.

“Ontario Liberals will scrap MZOs and bring in strict rules to protect our environment while responsibly building communities,” he said.

Del Duca said should he win the June 2 election, the Liberals “would only allow fast-tracking of critical provincial projects, like affordable housing and not-for-profit nursing homes.”

Noting Ford has issued 57 MZOs over the past three years, triple what the Liberals did during their 2003-2018 time in power, he said greater “transparency measures” would be introduced to protect the environment and increase local input.

“We desperately need to build more housing in Ontario,” conceded Del Duca.

But he emphasized the provincial should be able to grow and prosper “without attacking our environment.”

“It’s about sustainable growth to build a better future for all of us,” he said.

Both Ford and Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark have defended his invoking of MZOs, a planning tool that allows him to rezone a piece land to fast-track development and bypass public participation.

In June, the premier pointed out that a new shared Milton campus for Conestoga College and Wilfrid Laurier University “was made possible because of our government’s use of the MZOs.”

“We can’t be waiting around for all the regs and red tape,” Ford said, insisting his government gets “approval from municipalities” before proceeding.

Critics argue the Conservatives are approving development projects without adequately assessing their environmental impact.

With the Tories campaigning on building the 16.2 km Bradford Bypass and the 60 km Highway 413, two controversial freeways that would impact greenbelt lands, farmland, and sensitive wetlands, MZOs should be a hot topic in the spring election.