April 24, 2007

TORONTO—The Ontario government has won a Canadian Institute of Planners award for its Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, Public Infrastructure Renewal Minister David Caplan announced today. This follows the American Planning Association’s prestigious Daniel Burnham Award that was presented to the province in Philadelphia last Tuesday.

“I’m honoured that Ontario is being recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in urban planning,” said Caplan, the minister responsible for the plan. “Long-term growth planning in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, along with environmental initiatives, such as the Greenbelt plan, is crucial to Ontario’s future and will ensure Ontarians have the communities and quality of life they want and deserve.”

The Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe has won the Canadian Institute of Planners’ Award for Planning Excellence in the category of Re-urbanization. The award is given to an innovative initiative that enhances the social, economic and environmental well being of a community.

The awards will be presented on June 5, 2007 during the Canadian Institute of Planners’ annual conference in Quebec City.

“The winning project is certainly deserving of recognition by the Canadian Institute of Planners,” said Chair of the Planning Excellence Jury Gary Willson. “It highlights the significant care that Canadians have for their natural and built environments and the unique, increasingly sophisticated ways in which they want to express this.”

The government also won an award in the category of Environmental Planning for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing’s Greenbelt plan, which permanently protects 1.8 million acres of agricultural and environmentally sensitive land in the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

The growth plan outlines the government’s long-term vision for Canada’s most populous and fastest-growing region. The focus of the plan is to create complete, livable communities, with a greater mix of housing, parks, businesses and services and greater transportation choice. The plan sets clear standards for growth and development, while giving local governments the flexibility they need to meet their local priorities.

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Contacts:

Amy Tang
Minister’s Office
416-325-4048

Lori Theoret
Communications Branch
416-325-1810