‘There's no trust left now’: Vaughan councillor waiting for more from the auditor general

Thestar.com
Dec. 1, 2021
Dina Al-Shibeeb

Vaughan Coun. Marilyn Iafrate has pinned her hopes on Ontario’s auditor general as she alongside others, especially environmentalists, want to keep some of the province’s scarce farmland intact and not paved over for new development.

On Nov. 22, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk released five reports to the public, showing how the ministry of the environment automatically approves permits for developments expected to harm at-risk species.

In her reports, Lysyk also criticized Ontario for breaking its own law or the environmental bill of rights.

“There's no trust left now with the provincial oversight body, which would have been the Ministry of the Environment and also the Ministry of Natural Resources, who are supposed to be looking at species at risk,” Iafrate said.

“How many times they (ministries) have granted permissions to override the species at risk. So that’s a red flag for the federal government, and I hope it sends a message to them that they really need to be looking at this.”

While appreciated, this wasn’t the report that Iafrate was waiting for.

Iafrate has previously requested the auditor general to review Ontario’s new land needs assessment for its 2051 growth plan since she believes there are “plenty of lands” that could be used for development. There is no need to deplete the remainder of Vaughan’s whitebelt, also considered to be prime agricultural land, Iafrate added.

Iafrate said the growth plan is also the “government’s justification” for the much-controversial proposed Highway 413, which is going to go through Vaughan’s greenbelt.

“The auditor general has not done a review of the 413; many of us have asked her to do that,” she said. “The 413 is another component that we hope she will start next year.”

She expects the report on the land needs assessment to come any time.

The councillor also called for more transparency from the two ministries.

“The people we trust to look after our environment have disappointed us. And the people that we trust to share information with the public that is required by law have not done that,” she said, describing the report as a “bombshell.”

In an email shared with Yorkregion.com, Vaughan activist Irene Ford wrote to Lysyk that the “quantum of land that will be brought into York Region’s urban boundary” won’t be serving local residents and will accelerate congestion and car dependency.

“There is nothing in this plan that reflects public consultation completed by staff since the municipal comprehensive review process commenced,” Ford wrote. “I remain deeply concerned about the provincial direction and lack of scrutiny from York Region council.”