Message From Our President
While we should be focused on putting away our lawnmowers and garden tools in exchange for snow shovels, plows and ice rinks, there seems to be a distraction that has been garnering more and more attention and cause for concern. By now, most of you are aware of Bill 23 and our city councilors and staff are scrambling to figure out what the full extent of its implications will be. Working in front line operations, I am not a legal expert or political analyst but I do know that this bill will have a huge impact on our communities, parks, open spaces, conservation lands, wetlands, greenbelt corridors, natural and cultural heritage systems and much more both now and for generations to come. It will change the way municipalities will function moving forward. The way that land is developed, allocated, protected and maintained as greenspace could be detrimental to our future communities and to say that there will be major financial implications is an understatement. Due to the lack of detailed information provided so far it is not yet known to what extent these impacts will have or how to mitigate them. The haste with which this bill was passed into law is not sitting well with me. It moved very quickly through legislation before the commenting period was closed and with insufficient information. The details are confusing and leave a lot of unanswered questions. Was this intentional? Will today’s headline will be old news before the full impacts of this are known? I am hopeful that our communities will make sure that doesn’t happen until we know what all this means and have a reasonable outcome. Another thing that has me very confused is the timing of this legislation. If there’s anything that the covid pandemic taught us, it’s just how valuable our parks and open spaces are. The interest and attention on parks was astounding. For many, they were the only places to go for any type of activity, recreation or socializing. Our parks, trails and conservation areas were busier and more important to the citizens than they have ever been. It is known now more than ever just how important these spaces are and the many
benefits associated with them. Physical and mental health and well-being are improved for park users. They bring communities together and make them more livable. So why now, when we just saw first-
hand how valuable theses spaces are, would we bring in sweeping changes that could change the landscape of communities forever? There’s no denying that the housing crisis in Ontario is of utmost importance and there is a dire need for affordable and attainable housing. I sincerely hope that a solution can be found to provide the accommodations that are so desperately needed in a way that does not negatively impact our parks, open spaces and natural areas as drastically as bill 23 has the potential of doing. I have a vested interest both personally and professionally in the outcome of this. I live in an area that has protected wetlands and I have done my part as a resident to leave it undisturbed. I chose to live where I do because of the surrounding conservation lands and so that I could teach my family about the importance of nature and protecting it. I have also spent my entire career working in the parks and the green industry and I feel very fortunate for the opportunity to have built a fulfilling career doing what I do. The notion that these same
opportunities and experiences may be not be there for future generations is disconcerting. What can we do? We can continue to educate ourselves on this issue and stay up to date as details become clearer. We can keep our attention focused to make sure this remains a priority and doesn’t become old news. We can participate with our local resident groups to ask questions and voice our concerns. We can engage with professional organizations like OPA for information sharing (Our discussion
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The Green Sward – Winter 2022
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