Ontario Names Brownfield Co-ordinator
Proposed Bill Promotes Sustainable Development in Ontario

Ontario Names Brownfield Co-ordinator

Marcia Wallace was recently appointed Brownfields Co-ordinator for the Province of Ontario by Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing John Gerretsen. The new position of brownfield coordinator was created to provide a single point of access on brownfield issues and to coordinate provincial ministerial brownfields activities.

Wallace explains that the various ministries each have different mandates, but each has an interest in brownfields. The ministries were not coordinating their efforts in the most effective way.

Each ministry still has to deliver on its brownfield promises. Wallace is charged with making sure they are working together with someone taking the lead on each initiative and that ministry ownership of each issue is clear. The position resulted from Premier Dalton McGuinty’s order to Minister Gerretsen to help move brownfield redevelopment forward in the province.

“There is a strong connection to growth management and the green belt,” explained Wallace. “Brownfields are critical but they lacked coordination at the political level.”
Wallace started in her new position on December 19, 2005. Prior to this position, she was involved in the development of the Green Belt and the Planning Act with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Her background is in planning.

Minister Gerretsen has a personal interest in brownfields, said Wallace. “Ontario has been a leader in brownfield redevelopment, but we’re in a place where we need to push. We have the knowledge and expertise in the different ministries to do this. We also have the strength and the will. We will pool the strengths of the different ministries to come up with solutions,” she said.

Ontario has recently created a new web site, www.brownfields.ontario.ca, to consolidate the brownfield efforts of the different agencies. BFN

 

Proposed Bill Promotes Sustainable Development in Ontario

By 2031, Ontario’s population is expected to increase by four million people. Current patterns of growth place a heavy strain on the province’s infrastructure. In response to this pressure, the McGuinty government has proposed Bill 51, the Planning and Conservation Land Statute Law Amendment Act, 2005. This legislation, if passed, would reform Ontario’s land-use planning system and clarify the role of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).

Through better planning, the government believes it can support the development of communities that are more compact, have a good mix of housing and jobs, have more convenient and public-transit-friendly transportation choices and easier access to services. The proposed legislation aims to:

• Give local councils and residents more say in land planning decisions in their communities.
• Make it easier for municipalities to redevelop brownfields in order to help meet housing and other community needs.
• Clarify the role of the OMB and protect local decision-making.
• Improve the effectiveness of conservation easements as a tool to support the long-term stewardship and protection of agricultural lands, natural heritage areas and important watershed features on private lands in Ontario.

The proposed legislation also builds upon the government’s Greenbelt Plan, the new Provincial Policy Statement and the Strong Communities (Planning Amendment) Act 2004, and would help implement the government’s Places to Grow, clean water and green energy initiatives. BFN