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We are taking action to ensure the Town of Caledon does not become a template for developer-led land use planning in the Province of Ontario. Due to recent changes in Ontario’s planning and environmental protection policies made by the provincial government, along with the use of Strong Mayor Powers, 5,000 acres of prime agricultural land were re-zoned for 12 developments with only one public meeting and no background servicing, financial, or environmental studies. This has upended a long-established planning and environmental protection process and introduced significant uncertainty regarding the Town’s financial health and its tax base. We need more, not less, public involvement in planning and development to ensure healthy, livable communities. 

It is critical that we address these developer-friendly actions to rebuild trust in our public institutions, uphold democratic participation in local planning, and demonstrate that bypassing proper land use planning is unacceptable in Ontario.

We are committed to pressuring the Town to reverse these 12 re-zonings and start from scratch. This means conducting necessary financial and servicing studies, performing the essential environmental assessments, and engaging in meaningful consultations with the public and First Nations. We are committed to leveraging the expertise of lawyers and specialists to: 

• Honour Treaties with Indigenous Nations, and obligations as prescribed in the Constitution of Canada;
• Prevent greater climate chaos;
• Protect groundwater, farmland and other natural areas adjacent to the Greenbelt;
• Engage citizens in our democratic process; and
• Help to ensure this doesn’t happen elsewhere.

Your donations will help us engage these professionals to support our campaign to:

• Raise public awareness about abuses to the land use planning process by developer-friendly municipal councils;
• Organize people to demand that the Town reverse the rezoning of 5,000 acres of prime agricultural land; and
• Organize people to ensure that a town council that respects proper land use planning is elected in the next municipal election.

Please donate today to help ensure that development is managed in a way that protects our land, air, and water for future generations.

This project is part of Small Change Fund’s Legal and Expert Assistance Programme.