Toronto, Ont. – It is a great shame and a loss to the people of Ontario that David Crombie, the Chair of the provincially appointed Greenbelt Council, had no alternative but to resign today. His resignation comes as a direct result of Minister Steve Clark’s refusal to listen to the Council’s advice and remove Schedule 6 from Bill 229 (the budget bill).

In the words of Mr. Crombie: “It cuts out the heart of integrated watershed planning and management; severely cripples the Conservation Authorities in the pursuit of their historic stewardship of environmental issues, and now with the grossly expanded use of Ministerial Zoning Orders (MZO) and other procedural revisions, essential public discussion and debate will be stifled or shut down.”

Mr. Crombie and the Council have been key thinkers and advisors to the Ontario government on how to best protect farmland, natural features and economic prosperity. It is tragic that their impartial advice has been ignored and overridden by the self-serving demands of developers.

Mr. Crombie concludes in his letter: “This is not policy and institutional reform. This is high-level bombing and needs to be resisted.”

It is not too late for the Ontario government to finally listen to the advice of the Council and remove the attacks on our future, contained in Schedule 6 of the budget bill. All Ontarians are watching.

A copy of the David Crombie’s resignation letter is available here.

About ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (www.environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities

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More information on the content of Schedule 6 of Bill 229 that will gut the role of Conservation Authorities is available here.

To arrange an interview with an Environmental Defence representative please contact: Allen Braude, Environmental Defence, abraude@environmentaldefence.ca, cell: 416-356-2587