Tag Archives: #municipal

The Escarpment Corridor Alliance Celebrates it’s First Year Anniversary!

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On March 1st, 2022, the Escarpment Corridor Alliance made its public debut over a Zoom meeting. It’s hard to believe all that has transpired over the past year and how far the ECA has come. With this post, we would like to reflect on all that has been accomplished over the past year. And, in our next post, we will share a preview of the very exciting year ahead.

 

Making Our Mission Public

From that first Zoom call, attended by nearly 150 people, the awareness and support of the ECA has skyrocketed. Concerned supporters – residents and visitors – of our beautiful Southern Georgian Bay area have resoundingly connected with our mission for broad corridors that protect our natural heritage and biodiversity, and offer unique recreational opportunities to all. And, while the ECA is absolutely fighting against mega-developments like Castle Glen and Talisman, our supporters clearly recognize that we are fighting for something bigger … a green escarpment for generations to come. “Think global; act (BIG) local” is our mantra!

 

Groundswell of Support

One year in and we now have almost 22,000 supporters who have signed our petition to keep the escarpment free of mega developments. Thousands more supporters are reading our newsletters and actively engaging with us on social media.

 

Our Donor Base

Battling large land developers and creating a professional not-for-profit organization is expensive. Period. We are so grateful to the hundreds of individuals, families, and foundations that have made such generous donations that allowed us to accelerate past the grassroots phase and professionalize the organization. Your support has helped us build our team of scientific, planning and legal experts as well as expand our marketing reach.

 

Media Coverage

With a mission that resonates and a highly engaged board of directors reaching out far and wide across the escarpment, the media have taken notice. The ECA has had coverage in countless newspaper articles, magazine features, social media and on CBC Radio (click HERE to listen).

 

Partnerships

The word Alliance in the ECA name is not an accident. In a single year we have partnered with over a dozen local and regional environmental, recreational, and social organizations often becoming a conduit for their voices to be amplified, all while building our base of support. Working in collaboration with organizations like the Blue Mountain Watershed Trust, Protect Talisman Lands Association, Friends of Silver Creek, and others we have significantly elevated our collective impact.

 

Political Action

Throughout 2022 ECA Directors and volunteers made our case through presentations, deputations, written submissions, and townhalls to our elected officials. Moreover, we worked tirelessly to determine which candidates, provincially and locally, shared our vision for a green escarpment. Our impact on elections across the four municipalities we touch was profound. Nowhere was this evidenced more clearly than in The Blue Mountains where the new council recently voted, and unanimously passed, a motion that called for the protection of greenspace and the creation of natural corridors in Southern Georgian Bay. Critically, the motion spoke to increasing collaboration across municipalities, precisely what we, at the ECA, are aiming to achieve. We could not have written it better ourselves!

 

Now, thanks to the ECA and the incredible work of all our directors, volunteers, and supporters, our vision is well recognized across local municipal governments. This sets the stage for other municipalities to follow suit and sends a clear message to the provincial and federal governments.

 

Nobody said it would be easy, but nothing worth fighting for is!

 

Thanks to all of you for your support in getting us off the ground. Let’s build on this remarkable start and make our second year even better.

The Blue Mountains Council Supports Conserving Green Spaces!

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Council voted unanimously to work with regional partners and the province to enhance local land conservation through a formal collaboration process.  

This calls for a celebration! Local residents and environmental advocates were thrilled to witness a 5-0 vote by The Blue Mountains Council to move forward with a proposal to increase the collaboration between stakeholders in order to protect the green spaces along the Niagara Escarpment.  

The motion, put forward by Councillor Alex Maxwell, goes beyond The Blue Mountains and requests that staff collaborate with neighbouring municipal and regional councils and other stakeholders to create planning processes that incorporate natural environment protection and sustainability as guiding principles. The motion acknowledges the importance of our natural environment to all aspects of our regional economy, combatting climate change, and maintaining healthy ecosystems for generations to come.  

The Motion for the Protection of Green Space received strong community support from residents who wrote letters and spoke at the January 23rd Council meeting. Local resident and Escarpment Corridor Alliance (ECA) Director George Knowles informed council members at the meeting that, “we can’t solve all the problems around the world, but it’s up to us to do what we can, where we are, right here, right now, in the Town of The Blue Mountains. And we know that nature doesn’t pay attention to political boundaries, so we need to work in concert with Grey Highlands, Collingwood, and Clearview. As the saying goes, we need to think globally and act locally. This motion offers a chance to act big locally, right here, at home.”  

The ECA is a coalition of local residents, businesses, and organizations who are alarmed plans to turn key parts of the brow and prominent slopes of the Niagara Escarpment into mega-developments. The ECA is encouraged by The Blue Mountains Council’s strong leadership and support of the motion and hopes that it will help municipalities to reconsider inappropriate developments such as the proposal for Castle Glen that would replace over 1,500 acres of forest and ecologically-sensitive wetlands with 1,600 homes, hotels, three golf courses and 54,000 square feet of retail space.   

“Kudos to Town of The Blue Mountains Council for making the right decision and voting to pass this motion recognizing the true value of our natural heritage,” said ECA President Bruce Harbinson. “Land conservation principles don’t necessarily align with political boundaries which is why this motion and having collaboration across all of our region’s municipalities is so important and timely.”  

Voters Prioritize Environment in South Georgian Bay Municipal Elections

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We have so much to celebrate and to be proud of! 

This past municipal election, voters took a strong stance in favour of the environment. Throughout the South Georgian Bay region, residents elected local governments chalked full of ecologically sound councillors and mayors. We’re hopeful that the incoming councils will take the mandate they received from their constituents seriously and focus on policies promoting responsible and sustainable development in our communities. ECA looks forward to working with each and every councillor, mayor, and municipality to ensure they keep their commitment to the voters. 

Over at the Town of The Blue Mountains, Mayor Andrea Mastrosovs, Deputy Mayor Peter Bordignon, and four of its councillors Paula Hope, June Porter, Gail Ardiel, and Alex Maxwell have all signaled their support for conservation and responsible development by signing ECA’s pledge.  

Their campaign promises, websites, and literature voiced their commitment to ensuring The Blue Mountains has environmentally sound policies. In a rapidly growing municipality, this is essential to ensure smart planning to avoid losing the green space and natural assets which draw residents and tourists alike to the region. While they face a major challenge with the proposed development on Castle Glen Forest, we’re hopeful that this council will prioritize the long-term health of the environment over short-sighted pro-developer policies. 

In Collingwood, their new Mayor Yvonne Hamlin – another signatory of ECA’s pledge – was elected by nearly 40% of the vote. Mayor Hamlin hit the ground running and caused a big splash when she announced she would work to revoke the MZO the previous council had pushed through at the eleventh hour. On November 12, she tweeted, “I was elected to ensure responsible development that puts the needs of our community first. We deserve better.”  

Her pro-environment council caucus is bolstered by Councillors Christopher Bates, Deb Doherty, Steve Barry, and Brandon Houston who also signed our pledge – demonstrating the importance that Collingwood voters placed on the environment in the last election. We look forward to working with this team to ensure our communities are built up, not built out into green spaces.

In Grey Highlands where a hot election issue faced by candidates was the recent sale of the Talisman public lands. The controversial sale motivated constituents to head to the polls and choose councillors who the Protecting Talisman Lands Association (PTLA) endorsed. We are happy to report that two of the newly elected councillors, Nadia Dubyk and Joel Loughead, are supporters of ideals held by the ECA and PTLA. With these new voices on council, we anticipate a more sustainable approach to development in the municipality which prioritizes the environment and long-term health of communities.

Over the next four years, we at the Escarpment Corridor Alliance look forward to working with the new councils on our shared policy priorities. Voters sent a strong message to councils throughout the South Georgian Bay region – the environment and responsible municipal planning are top of mind. And politicians would do well to take note. Thank you to all who voted – we’ll be working with the new councils to ensure your voice continues to be heard and that natural spaces in our region will be protected! 

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