Two of the Ford government's priority bills — including separate pieces of legislation reversing its Greenbelt removals — passed third reading on Tuesday and will now become law.
A third government bill, to undo modifications the provincial government imposed on a dozen municipal plans, is also expected to pass in the evening.
The bills' passage comes after the Progressive Conservatives used a fast-tracking motion to expedite the final debate stage for the three pieces of legislation, which also included Bill 154, the New Deal for Toronto Act. It would deliver on the provincial government's "new deal" with Toronto, including affording the government powers to help clear some of the remaining obstacles to its Ontario Place redevelopment plans.
The government's move to expedite passage of Bills 136, 150, and 154 incensed opposition party MPPs, who decried it as draconian and anti-democratic.
"This government is trying to rush through the laws — new laws — as quickly as they can to avoid public scrutiny," NDP and official Opposition Leader Marit Stiles said on Monday.
"It's anti-democratic, and it's an abuse of power," Liberal MPP John Fraser said.
"I think it's wrong and I think it undermines democracy," Green Leader Mike Schreiner said.
Along with the remaining debate time on all three bills being cut short, the committee study stage of Bill 154, the New Deal for Toronto Act, was eliminated entirely. Once passed, it would afford the government powers to help clear some of the remaining obstacles to its Ontario Place redevelopment plans.
Each of Bills 136's and 150's committee reviews had already been made shorter than usual.
When most bills reach the committee stage of their passage, usually at least several witnesses who may be affected by the legislation attend meetings to voice their opinions and answer MPPs' questions. Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra was the lone witness who attended the quickened committee studies of Bills 136 and 150, appearing at meetings for an hour apiece last week.
Passage of Bill 136, the Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act, completes the government's promise to reverse its scandal-sunk Greenbelt removals.
Bill 150, the Planning Statute Law Amendment Act, serves two main purposes. It undoes most changes the provincial government imposed on a dozen municipalities' official plans and provides a legal shield to the government in the event that it revokes or changes minister's zoning orders (MZOs) that it's issued.
An MZO is a tool the province can issue to overrule or bypass a local municipality's bylaws, planning decisions or processes. In the time since Premier Doug Ford's PCs were elected in 2018, they issued more than 100 MZOs, a far greater total than any previous government.
Calandra has said he's reviewing the government's previously issued MZOs and that some may be changed or undone altogether. Ontario's auditor general is also working on an audit of the process the government has used to issue MZOs.
The bills' passage come near the end of what's been a tumultuous fall sitting for the Ford government, which reversed course on multiple of its previously central housing decisions in the wake of the Greenbelt scandal, which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police continue to investigate.
Correction: Bill 150, reversing most of the government’s modifications to a dozen municipalities’ official plans, is expected to pass imminently, but hadn’t yet passed when this story was first published. This story was updated at 4:49 p.m.
