Open Letter to Provincial Candidates in Simcoe-Grey & Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound
February 5, 2025
Dear Provincial Candidates,
Re: Urgent Need to Protect the Niagara Escarpment
The Escarpment Corridor Alliance (ECA), a registered charity formed in 2022, with thousands of engaged supporters, is reaching out to you because we believe the future of the Niagara Escarpment depends on strong and effective political leadership. This region, a UNESCO-designated Biosphere and an integral part of Ontario’s Greenbelt, is under increasing threat from harmful development. As stewards of this remarkable landscape, we must all act now to prevent irreversible damage to this unique and highly valuable natural resource.
Now, more than ever, we need the commitment of provincial leaders to uphold and strengthen the Niagara Escarpment Plan. Together, we can ensure that South Georgian Bay’s extraordinary landscape remains a cohesive, accessible natural space for future generations. Therefore:
The ECA urges you to champion the following three actions to protect the Niagara Escarpment:
- Uphold the objectives of Niagara Escarpment Plan – be clear that any development in an Escarpment Recreation Area without the current operation of the original permitted and grandfathered major recreational use is prohibited – and, where the original use has been in continuous operation, commercial and residential development must be of a type and scaled to support the original Escarpment based recreational use.
- Cancel all existing legacy exceptions to the Plan permitting development in the Escarpment which were based on outdated environmental protections and would not be approved today and where recreational uses have either lapsed or were never created.
- Review all existing Recreation Area designations and, where the original recreational use is not in existence (after a reasonable grandfathering period of 3-5 years), revert the designation to what it would have been in 1985 if no Recreation Area designation had been granted.
The Niagara Escarpment is currently protected by the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act (NEPDA), a forward-thinking land use framework introduced by the Bill Davis Progressive Conservative Government in 1973. The Niagara Escarpment Plan, approved in 1985, strictly regulates development and land use within the Escarpment area. It takes precedence over the Planning Act and local Official Plans and zoning bylaws, serving as the primary zoning regime for the Niagara Escarpment. While the Plan set a groundbreaking precedent for environmental protection in Canada and has largely safeguarded the Escarpment from harmful development, some of its policies have become outdated. Today, developers are targeting specific policies related to the 1985 Recreation Area designation, which could pave the way for unintended commercial or second-home developments on the Greenbelt.
Of particular concern to the ECA are potential loopholes that affect approximately 34 sites designated Escarpment Recreation Areas covering some 16,000 acres—an area more than twice the size of the proposed Greenbelt carve outs of 2022. Much of this land is located in Southern Georgian Bay and was grandfathered in the Plan to permit the continuation and expansion of existing ski hill operations and associated commercial and chalet developments.
Several troubling current development applications highlight the urgent need for immediate action by the Ontario Government:
- Beaver Valley/Talisman Developments: Development proposals have been submitted for a large-scale townhouse subdivision, an 800+ room hotel and one of the largest Nordic spas in North America, complete with 900 parking spaces, threatening the ecological and viewscape integrity of this top-rated portion of the Escarpment and surrounding Greenbelt. These developments are proposed to be built on the defunct Talisman Ski Resort lands without complying with the Plan.
- Castle Glen Development: A pristine 1,532-acre property that traverses three linear kilometers of escarpment brow facing Collingwood, recently acquired by one of Canada’s most prominent developers, is slated for a massive development, potentially including 1,600 residential units, 300 hotel rooms, 54,000 square feet of retail/commercial space and three golf courses. The original Castle Glen applications date back over five decades and even the most recent plans are based on outdated environmental standards from 20 years ago and were never subject to a sunset clause.
Together, we can ensure that South Georgian Bay’s extraordinary landscape remains a cohesive, accessible natural space for generations to come. The ECA looks forward to collaborating with the next Members of Provincial Parliament for Simcoe-Grey and Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound and to work creatively with the next provincial government to develop meaningful solutions that protect the Escarpment’s unique biodiversity, viewscapes and recreational value while promoting sustainable development that respects and maintains its environmental significance.
Sincerely,
Jarvis Strong, Executive Director, Escarpment Corridor Alliance
[email protected]
