September 30, 2015
VIA E-MAIL: tpomanski@ola.org
Tamara Pomanski
Clerk, Standing Committee on Justice Policy
Ontario Legislature Toronto, Ontario
RE: Bill 52 – Protection of Public Participation Act, 2015
Dear Chair Shafiq Qaadri, and Members of the Committee:
The Federation of North Toronto Residents’ Associations (FoNTRA), an umbrella organization currently representing 27 resi-dents’ associations, provides this correspondence to express our strong support for the government’s legislation designed to prohibit Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) used to interfere with legitimate public participation in mat-ters of public interest.
In a democratic society, citizens need to feel free to raise any issue of public interest without fear of being intimidated by a lawsuit. SLAPP has been used to silence legitimate critics by imposing long and costly court processes on them.
The proposed legislation should provide protection to interventions that deal with public interest issues.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide these comments.
Yours truly,
| Cathie Macdonald | Geoff Kettel |
|---|---|
| Co-Chair, FoNTRA | Co-Chair, FoNTRA |
| 57 Duggan Avenue | 129 Hanna Road |
| Toronto, Ontario | Toronto, Ontario |
| M4V 1Y1 | M4G 3N6 |
| cathie.macdonald@sympatico.ca | gkettel@gmail.com |
The Federation of North Toronto Residents’ Associations (FoNTRA) is a non-profit, volunteer organization comprised of 27 member organiza-tions. Its members, all residents’ associations, include at least 170,000 Toronto residents within their boundaries. The 27 residents’ associations that make up FoNTRA believe that Ontario and Toronto can and should achieve better development. Its central issue is not whether Toronto will grow, but how. FoNTRA believes that sustainable urban regions are characterized by environmental balance, fiscal viability, infrastructure investment and social renewal.
