Politics of the Oak Ridges Moraine
Encyclopedia
The politics of the Oak Ridges Moraine
in southern Ontario
, Canada, have centred on the question of how to preserve this extensive natural resource
that is increasingly threatened by human modification. Although preservation of the moraine was first suggested in the 1940s, and intermittently over the subsequent fifty years, it was not until 1991 that the issue achieved prominence in political discourse. For the ensuing decade, use of the moraine was hotly contested between the interests of local residents, developers and environmentalists.
On December 14, 2001 legislation was enacted, along with a provincial land use plan for the Oak Ridges Moraine. However, it seems clear that regulation, alone, is insufficient to preserving these valuable lands. Implementing the plan has required "political will, an engaged and informed public, and... broad based private and public partnerships." Monitoring of the Moraine project by citizens and environmental organizations, along with credible ecological information are essential to its continued preservation.
(STORM) Coalition
contributed to a growing sense among local residents that action needed to be taken to save the moraine. The Government of Ontario created the Oak Ridges Moraine Technical Working Committee in June 1991 with the joint membership of the Ministry of Natural Resources
, the Ministry of the Environment
and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. The STORM Coalition played a significant role in the Committee's work. The committee's aim was to create a regional planning strategy to coordinate the activities of various regional and municipal governments with jurisdiction over parts of the moraine. This multi-stakeholder process produced a comprehensive long-term strategy for the Moraine in 1994. However the strategy was subsequently dismissed in favour of local government administration of the affected lands. This led to intense development on some portions of the moraine. Most of this development was suburban detached single-family dwellings with road networks to accommodate them. In particular, Vaughan
, Richmond Hill
and Newmarket
experienced significant growth in the 1990s.
In early 1999, the Oak Ridges Moraine became a sensitive political issue; developers targeted Richmond Hill for large subdivisions
on the moraine, which would house over 100,000 people. Environmental groups began a media campaign to raise public awareness of the moraine, referring to it as the "rain barrel of Ontario." Public opposition to the developments grew quickly, and the issue was transferred to the Ontario Municipal Board
(OMB) in 2000.
Environmentalists, often critical of the OMB for allegedly fast-tracking developments over the concerns of municipal governments, again raised the issue in the media. The dispute remained unresolved until May 2001, when the provincial Conservative government announced a six-month moratorium on moraine development. A panel was formed to create a land-use plan consistent with the current Smart Growth
policy. The plan was released in October 2001, and was equally praised and condemned. It became the basis for the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act
, dividing the area into four zones with increasingly stringent controls on development in each. Under the Act, only eight percent of the moraine can be developed, and only in lands designated as "settlement areas."
from Stouffville Road, in Richmond Hill, to Bloomington Road in Aurora
. The land on which the extension would pass had been clear-cut in 1999, after the Government of Ontario Ministry of Environment approved the extension in 1998. The road's construction began in September 2001, though environmental groups had entered into legal procedures to block it. The Ontario Court of Appeals rejected the request, yet York Region officials agreed to resolve some of the concerns that were raised.
As a result, a bridge was added to the plan; the bridge spans a 70 m section of a dry ravine near Stouffville Road. Moreover, five salamander tunnels were added to the design, and were built in September 2002. The Bayview extension was officially opened on November 18, 2002.
promised to terminate development on the moraine as part of their election campaign. Once elected, they failed to deliver on that promise, as a development in the northern part of Richmond Hill consisting of over 6600 housing units continued. The government, in its attempt to halt other nearby developments, proposed the North Pickering Land Exchange. This concept, discussed as early as November 2001, involved exchanging government-owned public lands in North Pickering
for privately owned lands on the Oak Ridges Moraine in Richmond Hill and Uxbridge
.
The exchange settled outstanding disputes being considered by the OMB involving moraine lands in Richmond Hill and Uxbridge. Lands acquired by the developers had been previously identified as high-growth urban areas in regional and local Official Plans, often referred to as Seaton
. However, the process by which the exchange was settled angered environmentalists, who considered the lack of transparency in the process a betrayal: Josh Matlow, founder of Earthroots, accused the Tories of making a "sleazy, secret, sweetheart deal" with developers.
Moreover, the swap allowed the development of 600 acres (2.4 km²) on the moraine; the northern Richmond Hill development ceased operations for several days after the 2003 election, but resumed soon thereafter. The development of MacLeod's Landing, as it is now known, will be completed in late 2005. One of the developers, Brookfield Homes, has used the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan as a marketing device, claiming that "as one of the last approved developments on the Oak Ridges Moraine, rest assured that the preservation of the natural landscape
that surrounds you is forever." The other developers of the community are Kaitlin Group and Aspen Ridge Homes. The site was desirable for development because of the presence of Phillips Lake and a dozen other small kettle lakes, regular features throughout the Oak Ridges Moraine.
The political struggle regarding the moraine continues. The community of King City
in King Township
has been embroiled in a decade-long argument about replacing septic systems with a sewerage connection to the Durham-York Sewage System. Proponents of the link claim that the septic systems leak, endangering the subterranean aquifers of the moraine. Opponents claim that such a link would enable explosive growth in the small community, which would be detrimental to the preservation of the moraine. Construction of the link began in early 2005, creating the main sewer trunk from King City to Oak Ridges
along King Road, connecting to the existing system near Yonge Street
.
The connection to King City, despite the appellation Big Pipe, is relatively small compared to the overall system expansion governed by York Region, which has also been labeled The Big Pipe. The construction of this north-south extension to the system requires daily pumping of 30 million litres of water from subterranean aquifers, over its projected five-year construction schedule (lasting to early 2008). This has upset environmentalists greatly, and disturbed some residents of Markham
who rely on wells as their source of water. These residents were the first to be affected by construction because of their proximity to the initial area of development.
The $800 million project is divided into several phases, creating fourteen new links in the system. The system trunks, consisting of 2.7 metre concrete pipes, will collectively transport 740 million litres of raw sewage daily from York and Durham to treatment facilities in Pickering. On October 2, 2004, the province ordered a full environmental assessment of the Southeast Collector (in the Rouge Valley) and the Upper Leslie Trunk; a further 44 environmental conditions were placed on four other links in the new system.
When complete, the regional Big Pipe will extend from the eastern edge of Lake Simcoe
in the north, to treatment plants near Lake Ontario
in the south, running along Leslie Street. It will twin with the near-capacity Yonge Street
trunk, increasing capacity sufficiently to serve the region's growth until 2030. Intended to cover major growth areas in the eastern part of the region, it will connect directly to emerging developments from Markham to Holland Landing. Moreover, new connections to rural communities will be created; King City is connected to the existing system, whereas Stouffville
will connect to the new pipe.
Construction of the extensions have been contentious. York Region has been accused of failing to conduct a proper environmental assessment for the expansion. Ontario's environmental commissioner Gord Miller
noted such concerns: "One of the most significant problems with this project is the lack of a full environmental assessment. Officials never looked at the full picture and the impact it has on the Oak Ridges Moraine and surrounding communities."
As pumping of the aquifers continued throughout 2002, residents in nearby areas complained about dropping water levels in their wells, as well as dirty water; the range of affected areas increased with the total volume of water pumped from the aquifer, some as far away as 10 km. Environmentalists claim that continued pumping may jeopardize the aquifer system, so much so that it may reverse its flow in some areas. York Region's planners counter that by indicating that all water that is pumped is re-introduced into nearby streams after being warmed (aquifer water from 50 m below ground level is very cold), and will not affect the aquifer system. Unfortunately, there is no scientific evidence for either claim. Environmentalists have observed, though, that water isn't heated evenly, often resulting in the scalding and death of many fish. Also, according to the Globe and Mail, "York Region has acknowledged that the first phase of building the 16th Avenue sewer line, finished in 2003, had a negative impact on local watersheds."
In late October 2005, Toronto City Council voted 34-3 to join an environmental coalition attempting to block the construction of the extension. The city, southern neighbour to York Region, allocated $100,000 to conduct a study of the impact of the system on the city's watersheds, specifically the Rouge River Valley
, and requested the provincial Environment Minister to defer the approval for construction until the study is complete.
in watershed protection. In its 2002 case study, the International Association for Great Lakes Research noted that it was “only through citizen initiatives, shaped and focused by environmental groups, that serious debate, and eventual formation of a land use plan, took place." As the struggle to save the moraine shows, significant political pressure is necessary to overcome the obstacles to controls: municipalities dedicated to encouraging growth and higher level governments reluctant to intervene. The importance of access to good science and policy information is crucial, as is the need for ongoing monitoring and vigilance.”
Oak Ridges Moraine
The Oak Ridges Moraine is an ecologically important geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south-central Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers a geographic area of between Caledon and Rice Lake, near Peterborough...
in southern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada, have centred on the question of how to preserve this extensive natural resource
Natural capital
Natural capital is the extension of the economic notion of capital to goods and services relating to the natural environment. Natural capital is thus the stock of natural ecosystems that yields a flow of valuable ecosystem goods or services into the future...
that is increasingly threatened by human modification. Although preservation of the moraine was first suggested in the 1940s, and intermittently over the subsequent fifty years, it was not until 1991 that the issue achieved prominence in political discourse. For the ensuing decade, use of the moraine was hotly contested between the interests of local residents, developers and environmentalists.
On December 14, 2001 legislation was enacted, along with a provincial land use plan for the Oak Ridges Moraine. However, it seems clear that regulation, alone, is insufficient to preserving these valuable lands. Implementing the plan has required "political will, an engaged and informed public, and... broad based private and public partnerships." Monitoring of the Moraine project by citizens and environmental organizations, along with credible ecological information are essential to its continued preservation.
Political action
The Oak Ridges Moraine began to come to public awareness in the late 1980s. The establishment, in 1989, of the Save the Oak Ridges MoraineSave the Oak Ridges Moraine
Save the Oak Ridges Moraine is a coalition of 25 citizen's groups and individuals dedicated to preserving the ecologically sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine in Ontario, Canada...
(STORM) Coalition
contributed to a growing sense among local residents that action needed to be taken to save the moraine. The Government of Ontario created the Oak Ridges Moraine Technical Working Committee in June 1991 with the joint membership of the Ministry of Natural Resources
Ministry of Natural Resources (Ontario)
The Ministry of Natural Resources is a government ministry of the Canadian province of Ontario that responsible for Ontario’s provincial parks, forests, fisheries, wildlife, mineral aggregates and the Crown lands and waters that make up 87 per cent of the province...
, the Ministry of the Environment
Ministry of the Environment (Ontario)
The Ministry of the Environment, established in 1972, is the portfolio in the Executive Council of Ontario responsible for addressing the environmental issues affecting the environmental protection of the Canadian province of Ontario and the World...
and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. The STORM Coalition played a significant role in the Committee's work. The committee's aim was to create a regional planning strategy to coordinate the activities of various regional and municipal governments with jurisdiction over parts of the moraine. This multi-stakeholder process produced a comprehensive long-term strategy for the Moraine in 1994. However the strategy was subsequently dismissed in favour of local government administration of the affected lands. This led to intense development on some portions of the moraine. Most of this development was suburban detached single-family dwellings with road networks to accommodate them. In particular, Vaughan
Vaughan, Ontario
Vaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada achieving a population growth rate of 80.2% between 1996–2006, according to Statistics Canada having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern...
, Richmond Hill
Richmond Hill, Ontario
Richmond Hill is a town located in Southern Ontario, Canada in the central portion of York Region, Ontario. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, being located about halfway between Toronto and Lake Simcoe...
and Newmarket
Newmarket, Ontario
Newmarket is a town in Southern Ontario located approximately 50 km north of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area and is connected to Toronto by freeway, and is served by three interchanges along Highway 404. It is also connected to Highway 400 via Highway 9...
experienced significant growth in the 1990s.
In early 1999, the Oak Ridges Moraine became a sensitive political issue; developers targeted Richmond Hill for large subdivisions
Subdivision (land)
Subdivision is the act of dividing land into pieces that are easier to sell or otherwise develop, usually via a plat. The former single piece as a whole is then known in the United States as a subdivision...
on the moraine, which would house over 100,000 people. Environmental groups began a media campaign to raise public awareness of the moraine, referring to it as the "rain barrel of Ontario." Public opposition to the developments grew quickly, and the issue was transferred to the Ontario Municipal Board
Ontario Municipal Board
The Ontario Municipal Board is an independent administrative board, operated as an adjudicative tribunal, in the province of Ontario, Canada...
(OMB) in 2000.
Environmentalists, often critical of the OMB for allegedly fast-tracking developments over the concerns of municipal governments, again raised the issue in the media. The dispute remained unresolved until May 2001, when the provincial Conservative government announced a six-month moratorium on moraine development. A panel was formed to create a land-use plan consistent with the current Smart Growth
Smart growth
Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl and advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood schools, complete streets, and mixed-use development with a...
policy. The plan was released in October 2001, and was equally praised and condemned. It became the basis for the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act
Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act
The Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, officially known as the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001, is a conservation plan for land situated on or near the Oak Ridges Moraine in Ontario, Canada...
, dividing the area into four zones with increasingly stringent controls on development in each. Under the Act, only eight percent of the moraine can be developed, and only in lands designated as "settlement areas."
The Bayview Avenue extension
Throughout the process, debate continued about the extension of Bayview AvenueBayview Avenue
Bayview Avenue is a major north-south route in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. North of Toronto, in York Region, Bayview is also designated as York Regional Road 34.-History:...
from Stouffville Road, in Richmond Hill, to Bloomington Road in Aurora
Aurora, Ontario
Aurora is an affluent town in York Region, approximately 20 km north of Toronto. It is partially situated on the Oak Ridges Moraine, and is a part of the Greater Toronto Area and Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario.Many Aurora residents commute to Toronto and surrounding communities.In the...
. The land on which the extension would pass had been clear-cut in 1999, after the Government of Ontario Ministry of Environment approved the extension in 1998. The road's construction began in September 2001, though environmental groups had entered into legal procedures to block it. The Ontario Court of Appeals rejected the request, yet York Region officials agreed to resolve some of the concerns that were raised.
As a result, a bridge was added to the plan; the bridge spans a 70 m section of a dry ravine near Stouffville Road. Moreover, five salamander tunnels were added to the design, and were built in September 2002. The Bayview extension was officially opened on November 18, 2002.
North Pickering Land Exchange
During the provincial election of 2003, the Liberal Party of OntarioOntario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
promised to terminate development on the moraine as part of their election campaign. Once elected, they failed to deliver on that promise, as a development in the northern part of Richmond Hill consisting of over 6600 housing units continued. The government, in its attempt to halt other nearby developments, proposed the North Pickering Land Exchange. This concept, discussed as early as November 2001, involved exchanging government-owned public lands in North Pickering
Pickering, Ontario
Pickering is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, the largest metropolitan area in Canada.- Early Period :...
for privately owned lands on the Oak Ridges Moraine in Richmond Hill and Uxbridge
Uxbridge, Ontario
Uxbridge is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Durham, in the Greater Toronto Area.The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge...
.
The exchange settled outstanding disputes being considered by the OMB involving moraine lands in Richmond Hill and Uxbridge. Lands acquired by the developers had been previously identified as high-growth urban areas in regional and local Official Plans, often referred to as Seaton
Seaton, Ontario
Seaton is a section of north Pickering in Ontario, Canada. Seaton includes the communities of Cherrywood, Green River, and Whitevale, as well as the southern edge of Brougham.-Politics:...
. However, the process by which the exchange was settled angered environmentalists, who considered the lack of transparency in the process a betrayal: Josh Matlow, founder of Earthroots, accused the Tories of making a "sleazy, secret, sweetheart deal" with developers.
Moreover, the swap allowed the development of 600 acres (2.4 km²) on the moraine; the northern Richmond Hill development ceased operations for several days after the 2003 election, but resumed soon thereafter. The development of MacLeod's Landing, as it is now known, will be completed in late 2005. One of the developers, Brookfield Homes, has used the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan as a marketing device, claiming that "as one of the last approved developments on the Oak Ridges Moraine, rest assured that the preservation of the natural landscape
Natural landscape
A natural landscape is a landscape that is unaffected by human activity. A natural landscape is intact when all living and nonliving elements are free to move and change. The nonliving elements distinguish a natural landscape from a wilderness. A wilderness includes areas within which natural...
that surrounds you is forever." The other developers of the community are Kaitlin Group and Aspen Ridge Homes. The site was desirable for development because of the presence of Phillips Lake and a dozen other small kettle lakes, regular features throughout the Oak Ridges Moraine.
The Big Pipe
- See also King City: The Big Pipe.
The political struggle regarding the moraine continues. The community of King City
King City, Ontario
King City is an affluent, unincorporated village in King Township, Ontario, Canada, located just north of Toronto. It is the largest community in King Township, with 1,629 dwellings and a population of 4,902.-History:...
in King Township
King, Ontario
King is a township in York Region north of Toronto, within the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada.The rolling hills of the Oak Ridges Moraine are the most prominent visible geographical feature of King. The Holland Marsh, considered to be Ontario's "vegetable basket", straddles King Township...
has been embroiled in a decade-long argument about replacing septic systems with a sewerage connection to the Durham-York Sewage System. Proponents of the link claim that the septic systems leak, endangering the subterranean aquifers of the moraine. Opponents claim that such a link would enable explosive growth in the small community, which would be detrimental to the preservation of the moraine. Construction of the link began in early 2005, creating the main sewer trunk from King City to Oak Ridges
Oak Ridges, Ontario
Oak Ridges is an unincorporated community in Ontario, Canada, and has been part of Richmond Hill's administrative area since its annexation in 1971. Although physically separate and distinct from Richmond Hill, it forms the northern portion of the municipality's boundary. Located about 16.5 km...
along King Road, connecting to the existing system near Yonge Street
Yonge Street
Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...
.
The connection to King City, despite the appellation Big Pipe, is relatively small compared to the overall system expansion governed by York Region, which has also been labeled The Big Pipe. The construction of this north-south extension to the system requires daily pumping of 30 million litres of water from subterranean aquifers, over its projected five-year construction schedule (lasting to early 2008). This has upset environmentalists greatly, and disturbed some residents of Markham
Markham, Ontario
Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...
who rely on wells as their source of water. These residents were the first to be affected by construction because of their proximity to the initial area of development.
The $800 million project is divided into several phases, creating fourteen new links in the system. The system trunks, consisting of 2.7 metre concrete pipes, will collectively transport 740 million litres of raw sewage daily from York and Durham to treatment facilities in Pickering. On October 2, 2004, the province ordered a full environmental assessment of the Southeast Collector (in the Rouge Valley) and the Upper Leslie Trunk; a further 44 environmental conditions were placed on four other links in the new system.
When complete, the regional Big Pipe will extend from the eastern edge of Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe is a lake in Southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called Ouentironk by the Huron natives...
in the north, to treatment plants near Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
in the south, running along Leslie Street. It will twin with the near-capacity Yonge Street
Yonge Street
Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...
trunk, increasing capacity sufficiently to serve the region's growth until 2030. Intended to cover major growth areas in the eastern part of the region, it will connect directly to emerging developments from Markham to Holland Landing. Moreover, new connections to rural communities will be created; King City is connected to the existing system, whereas Stouffville
Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ontario
Whitchurch–Stouffville is a municipality in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada, approximately 14 kilometres north of the City of Toronto. It is 206.74 square kilometers in size, and located in the mid-eastern area of the Regional Municipality of York on the ecologically sensitive Oak...
will connect to the new pipe.
Construction of the extensions have been contentious. York Region has been accused of failing to conduct a proper environmental assessment for the expansion. Ontario's environmental commissioner Gord Miller
Gord Miller (environmental commissioner)
Gord Miller is the current Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, Canada. He has served as the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario since 2000, and oversees the implementation of the Environmental Bill of Rights....
noted such concerns: "One of the most significant problems with this project is the lack of a full environmental assessment. Officials never looked at the full picture and the impact it has on the Oak Ridges Moraine and surrounding communities."
As pumping of the aquifers continued throughout 2002, residents in nearby areas complained about dropping water levels in their wells, as well as dirty water; the range of affected areas increased with the total volume of water pumped from the aquifer, some as far away as 10 km. Environmentalists claim that continued pumping may jeopardize the aquifer system, so much so that it may reverse its flow in some areas. York Region's planners counter that by indicating that all water that is pumped is re-introduced into nearby streams after being warmed (aquifer water from 50 m below ground level is very cold), and will not affect the aquifer system. Unfortunately, there is no scientific evidence for either claim. Environmentalists have observed, though, that water isn't heated evenly, often resulting in the scalding and death of many fish. Also, according to the Globe and Mail, "York Region has acknowledged that the first phase of building the 16th Avenue sewer line, finished in 2003, had a negative impact on local watersheds."
In late October 2005, Toronto City Council voted 34-3 to join an environmental coalition attempting to block the construction of the extension. The city, southern neighbour to York Region, allocated $100,000 to conduct a study of the impact of the system on the city's watersheds, specifically the Rouge River Valley
Rouge River (Ontario)
The Rouge River is a two river system. Little Rouge and Rouge River are in the east and the northeast parts of Toronto and begin in the Oak Ridges Moraine in Richmond Hill and Whitchurch-Stouffville...
, and requested the provincial Environment Minister to defer the approval for construction until the study is complete.
Lessons learned in watershed preservation
The action to save the moraine yields insights into the state of sustainable land use planning and smart growthSmart growth
Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl and advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood schools, complete streets, and mixed-use development with a...
in watershed protection. In its 2002 case study, the International Association for Great Lakes Research noted that it was “only through citizen initiatives, shaped and focused by environmental groups, that serious debate, and eventual formation of a land use plan, took place." As the struggle to save the moraine shows, significant political pressure is necessary to overcome the obstacles to controls: municipalities dedicated to encouraging growth and higher level governments reluctant to intervene. The importance of access to good science and policy information is crucial, as is the need for ongoing monitoring and vigilance.”