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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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