Re: OPPI Feedback on Proposed Provincial Planning Statement

Given the efforts made over the past year to improve efficiencies and streamline the system, we want to ensure that the new PPS continues the momentum while maintaining the ability to implement good planning principles in the public interest. [...] The document should recognize the Duty to Consult and Accommodate, the principles of free, prior, informed consent, and the articles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). [...] Unintended Consequences of the Provincial Planning Statement Though the Provincial Planning Statement strives to streamline the planning process in Ontario to speed up the delivery of new housing, the simplification of numerous policies and removal of core policies compared to the Growth Plan and Provincial Policy Statement may have the opposite effect. [...] The proposed changes to settlement areas and opportunities for expansion do not seem to align with the infrastructure planning and policies necessary for proper and orderly long-term infrastructure planning and the development of healthy and complete communities. [...] While the natural heritage policies and definitions appear to be consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020, this has the effect of lowering the standards of protection for natural heritage features and systems in the Greater Golden Horseshoe which currently reside within the Growth Plan.