On March 11th and 12th, the Ontario Legislature held public hearings on Bill 245, an omnibus legislation that included sections that FoSTRA (the Federation of South Toronto Residents’ Associations) felt were but further steps in a series by the Ford government to accelerate development applications, sideline community consultations and weaken objective reviews of developer’s appeals to City objections. In typical fashion, calls to appear at the hearings were issued with a very tight timeline to reply, and less than 4 days to prepare a brief that articulated our collective concerns and recommendations. Attached is the brief that was presented at the hearings the morning of Mar 12th by myself and Don Young, who must take a bow for crafting the lion’s share of our presentation. This was the first foray of FoSTRA, officially only two weeks old, onto a public stage that allowed us to express the growing concern and frustration at the sidelining of community engagement and subversion of due process expressed by so many FoSTRA RA’s. I am equally sure it will not be our last, and we will only gain momentum, and volume, as this organization tackles important issues that transcend all our boundaries. I would also like to take this time to append FoSTRA’s mandate and objectives. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with them, and if they resonate with you or your organization, consider becoming an active member if you haven’t already done so. Best regards, Rick Green Acting Chair, FoSTRA To read the entire presentation, click HERE
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