First, I want to thank the minister, who rolled back the changes of our official plan, changes that were done in haste and without consultation last November because they got it done wrong. I acknowledge that when you get it done wrong, you fix those mistakes. This is a wise choice because the decision was made in haste. It caused confusion and shock in my community and undermined local government. I felt this as a city councillor and as someone who was part of the planning process.

Our planning process that we embarked on included the voices of municipality leaders, community leaders, experts, citizens, stakeholders, environmental groups etc., to ensure that we allotted the right amount of land to meet the housing targets we had for decades to come but also were mindful of our forests, our farms and our wetlands, taking only what we need. Our community is dependent on groundwater, one of the few communities in Ontario that uses solely groundwater for our drinking etc.

Unfortunately, the ministry has got it done wrong again, and we continue to waste time and money from cash-strapped municipalities, undermining our local farming economy. Lands were added to our regional official plan 6. Our process used expert data, and we were concerned about impact. This recent addition of hundreds if not thousands of hectares of land does not use good process. Even the province’s own housing task force clearly stated, “Land is available, both inside the ... built-up areas and on undeveloped land outside greenbelts....

“Greenbelts and other environmentally sensitive areas must be protected.” Farms that “provide food and food security” need to be protected. “Relying too heavily on undeveloped land would whittle away too much the already small share of land devoted to agriculture.”

Speaker, this government continues to get it done wrong by doubling down on a flawed process to pursue a sprawl agenda which only benefits wealthy developers.

Former mayor of Toronto and cabinet minister David Crombie said, “The last thing Ontarians need in a housing crisis is a new law that supports building the wrong” kind “of housing in the wrong places at the wrong prices”—his words.

Speculators in my area—our area—are having a field day. They are buying up all the farmland on the countryside line and sitting on it so they can cash in big when the winds turn their way, which has been happening. Our own Waterloo Federation of Agriculture said and protections are now permeable, and our farmers are leaving the province. This flip-flopping is costing our $47-billion farming economy that supplies more than 750,000 jobs. It’s costing us the next generation of farmers. It’s also costing us a livable planet for my kids and our children by doubling down on a way of life that leads to soul-crushing commutes and financially unfeasible municipal costs.

Speaker, I call on the minister to reinstate the regional official plan 6 for the region of Waterloo, to respect our thorough and world-class process, the community, the money that we spent, the time and love we put into it to honour the clean water and air that sustain my children and all of our children.

I’m ready for questions.