Fewer meetings held more quickly
While residents are struggling to understand the complexity of Bill 23, the province is moving quickly to fix wheels to their wagon.
All of this haste flies in the face of the best practices of consultation that provide a prescription of fairness required of all public bodies. See the details of these best practices (aka The Gunning Principles) below.
The consultation schedule for Bill 23 was released on October 31st.
More homes built faster, 2022 Act
The Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy will meet to consider Bill 23, An Act to amend various statutes, to revoke various regulations and to enact the Supporting Growth and Housing in York and Durham Regions Act, 2022.
How to get involved
Register to speak
Interested people who wish to be considered to make an oral presentation on Bill 23 are required to register by 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 (Toronto).
Public Hearings (in person)
The Committee intends to hold public hearings in Markham on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 (in-person), in Brampton on Thursday, November 10, 2022 (in-person), and in Toronto on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, and Thursday, November 17, 2022.
Written submissions
Those who do not wish to make an oral presentation but wish to comment on the bill may send a written submission by 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 17, 2022.
To register or send a written submission, please visit the following link:
What are the Gunning Principles?
The Gunning Principles, stem from a landmark case in 1985 (Regina v Brent London Borough Council, ex parte Gunning (1985) 84 LGR 168). These principles set a precedent for all future cases and are nowadays used as guiding principles for consultations. They can be summarized as:
- The consultation must be undertaken at a time when proposals are still at a formative stage.
- The proposer must give sufficient reasons for any proposal to permit intelligent consideration and response.
- Adequate time must be given for consideration and response.
- The product of consultation must be conscientiously taken into account in finalising any proposals.
- Failure to fulfil these principles leads to low quality consultations which risk reputational damage, judicial review and may impact on planning determinations.
FoNTRA and other organizations are working diligently to prepare submissions to the proposed legislation and we will post updates and additional resource material.
If you have specific areas of concerns please reach out to FoNTRA or other umbrella groups to highlight these concerns.
Photo credit: David Urbonas, licensed under CC 2.0