27

Phil Pothen

Program Manager, Land Use and Ontario Environment & Counsel

Phil is a land use planning and environmental lawyer with a background in landscape ecology, landscape architecture and 10 years of experience advising and representing provincial policy-makers, select small builders, and concerned residents. He joined EDC to advance “big-picture” approaches to problems he has dealt with case-by-case – a comprehensive alternative vision for development and industry that meets people’s needs while preserving Ontario’s natural spaces, farmland and other “greenfields” in perpetuity. Having spent his early summers searching out berries, moose tracks and rabbit burrows in the woods and barrens near his house, he has been pleased to introduce his three children to the many similar pleasures available in Toronto’s own urban ravines.

Read Phil's Posts

Nov 13, 2024

New Expert Report: Ending Restrictions on Mid-Rise Apartment Buildings Necessary to end Housing Shortage

To deliver 1.5 million homes by 2031, governments need to eliminate minimum parking requirements, reform…

Read More


Aug 20, 2024

Killing Growth Plan for Greater Golden Horseshoe is a Disaster for Ontario’s Environment and Efforts to End Housing Shortage

Statement from Phil Pothen, Land Use and Land Development program manager, in response to Ontario’s…

Read More


Aug 20, 2024

Environmental Group Celebrates as Federal Government Finalizes Delayed Plan to Protect Redside Dace After Legal Pressure

After unconscionable delays, a Recovery Strategy and Action Plan for the Redside Dace is now…

Read More


Aug 01, 2024

New Endangered Species Habitat Mapping Could Kill Proposed Highway 413

Statement from Phil Pothen, Land Use and Land Development program manager, on new federal Recovery…

Read More


Jun 05, 2024

Passage of Bill 185 Undermines the Integrity of all Future Development Approvals Outside Existing Built up Areas

“Third party” appeals limited to polluters, airports, and aggregate pits Statement from Phil Pothen, Land…

Read More


May 24, 2024

Toronto’s Legalization of Six-Storey Apartment Buildings in Residential Neighbourhoods is the Model for Fixing Ontario’s Housing Shortage

Statement from Phil Pothen, Land Use and Land Development program manager Toronto | Traditional territories…

Read More


May 22, 2024

The Ontario Government’s Anti-Density Bill 185 is so Extreme and Corrupt that even Density Opponents are Concerned

Statement from Phil Pothen, Land Use and Land Development program manager Toronto | Traditional territories…

Read More


May 06, 2024

Ontario’s Bill 185 & New Provincial Planning Statement Pose a Serious Threat to Farmland, Wetlands, Habitats and Housing Options

If people in Ontario don’t speak up, the government might push through two new laws…

Read More


Apr 30, 2024

Premier Doug Ford’s Claim that Highway 413 Construction will Begin in 2025 is Wishful Thinking in View of Today’s Updates to Federal Impact Assessment

Statement from Phil Pothen, Land Use and Land Development program manager Toronto | Traditional territories…

Read More


Apr 15, 2024

Federal Government Should Quickly Re-Designate Highway 413 for Impact Assessment Under an Updated Impact Assessment Act

Statement from Phil Pothen, Environmental Defence Counsel, on discontinuation of the current Federal Impact Assessment…

Read More