Several of Ontario's leading environmental organizations (including the Pembina Institute, Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA), the Save the Oak Ridges Moraine (STORM) Coalition; and the Coalition on the Niagara Escarpment (CONE)) called on the Government of Ontario to withdraw Bill 25, The Smart Transportation Act, at a news conference held at Queen's Park held today.
The Bill, introduced by Transportation Minister Frank Klees on May 7, includes provisions that would allow the Minister of Transportation to override the authority of municipal councils, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and other provincial and local agencies to designate areas of the province as 'transportation infrastructure corridors' (i.e. highway corridors). The Bill would exempt the designation of such 'corridors' from the requirements of the Environmental Assessment Act, and attempts to bar any form of legal action against corridor designations. The Bill also includes provisions related to the designation of high occupancy vehicle lanes and commuter parking lots.
"The elements of Bill 25 related to the designation of 'transportation infrastructure corridors' represents the complete antithesis of 'smart growth' principles," said Dr. Mark Winfield, Director of the Pembina Institute's Environmental Governance Program. "Rather than integrating transportation infrastructure into an overall growth and land-use planning system, the Bill would allow the Ministry of Transportation to plan and locate highways in almost complete isolation from any other land-use, environmental, social or economic considerations."
"Bill 25 means uninformed and unintelligent growth" said Paul Muldoon, Executive Director at the Canadian Environmental Law Association, "The Bill completely usurps the principles of the environmental assessment process — a process designed to examine the need for these projects and whether there are any suitable alternatives. Bill 25 takes from the public the very right to ask fundamental questions and participate in environmental decision-making. This sets the environmental assessment process back 25 years."
"Bill 25 purports to flow from the recommendations of the Central Ontario Smart Growth Panel. This is misleading" said Debbe Crandall, Executive Director of the Save the Oak Ridges Moraine (STORM) Coalition and a member of the government's Central Ontario Smart Growth Panel. "The panel's transit-first priority requires a thorough re-examination of the need for different transportation modes to deal not only with gridlock but also the environmental and social problems of automobile dependency. Bill 25 strips us of the opportunity to have that necessary debate. This legislation is taking us in the wrong direction."
The organizations called on the government to withdraw Bill 25, and for the province to come forward with in integrated package of legislation and policies that reflect the integrative principles of real smart growth policies.
For more information:
Debbe Crandall, STORM Coalition
Tel: 905-880-3465
Paul Muldoon, Canadian Environmental Law Association
Tel: 416-960-2284 ext.219
Mark Winfield, Pembina Institute
Tel: 416-978-5656/cell416-434-8130