By MPP Bobbi Ann Brady
Ontario’s Auditor General recently released her annual report, which contained some red flags that hit close to home regarding Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs)—specifically, the Nanticoke Industrial Park.
From 2019 to 2023, the Ford government implemented MZOs 114 times, 17-fold more in comparison to the previous 20 years. The report also found that while the government was busy blasting out this extraordinary volume of municipality-overriding zoning orders, the PC Government often ignored critical information and ranked requests “with no protocol and no apparent rationale.” By way of background: MZOs are a tool used to give a green light to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) to make amendments to land zoning rules, override municipal decisions, and, in most cases with this government, to fast-track housing projects. MZOs regulate the use of land, buildings and structures anywhere in Ontario. In cases of disagreement between an MZO and a municipal zoning by-law, the MZO wins.
In the not-to-distant past, MZOs were reserved for zoning concerns in undeveloped areas or to protect agricultural and natural lands. Instead, the audit found, under the current administration, more than 50 per cent of recent MZOs were about residential development.
The Auditor General uncovered some orders issued by former MMAH minister Steve Clark gave “the appearance of preferential treatment” for particular developers. Clark’s team often invoked an MZO seemingly sans consideration of local and environmental realities, which on occasion rocketed the values of property before projects were possible. Rezoned agricultural land rises in value an average of 46 per cent when granted an MZO.
The report noted MMAH didn’t thoroughly assess “whether the sites for re-zoning had access to servicing.” Obviously, infrastructure, including water and wastewater systems is essential for building and a “key consideration for any development” going through the municipal approvals process as the report put it. The Auditor General noted that “As of April 2024, 18 per cent of projects relating to MZOs were still facing significant delays related to servicing.” Further, it continued that, “These delays beg the question why an MZO was used instead of the municipal planning process.”
Why indeed.
Back to Haldimand-Norfolk where an application for a MZO for Empire Homes is imminent. Empire Homes will be asking for an MZO to green light the development of a city of 15,000 homes and 40,000 people on the Nanticoke Industrial Lands. These lands are a source of needed employment now and for the future, not for homes. An industrial park is for industry. As I’ve said many times, the jobs at Stelco and Imperial Oil must be protected.
And then there’s the infrastructure issue. Infrastructure goes far beyond water and wastewater. Consider hospitals/healthcare, schools/education, and safe and efficient roadways. Yeah, the roadways—you’ve likely heard me all the way from Queen’s Park telling the House that Highway 6 is a mess as it is. Imagine the literal and figurative carnage with thousands of commuters travelling back and forth to the GTA and GHA.
To read the full report: https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/annualreports/arbyyear/ar2024.html
In my opinion after reading the Auditor General’s report, I see no good reason for the Ford Government to approve yet another controversial MZO. Putting 40,000 people in an industrial park could translate into big headlines for this government.
Bobbi Ann Brady is the MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk