July 12, 2004
Remarks to the Toronto Board of Trade
by David Caplan, Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal
Check Against Delivery
It’s a great pleasure to be here.
The Toronto Board of Trade has been part of life in this city—promoting business and helping drive the city’s economy—since 1845.
That is nearly 160 years of helping improve the quality of life for people in Toronto…a term that surely no government could ever hope to match…
…although we’re perfectly happy to try.
But today I am here to talk about what my government hopes to be able to do to improve the quality of life for people in this area over a period of time that far exceeds our mandate.
I am very proud today to release a discussion paper on my government’s plan for growth in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. It’s a plan that sets out our vision of how the growth of Central Ontario—the economic engine of the province—should be guided, encouraged and managed over the next 30 years.
We’re calling the plan Places to Grow: Better Choices. Brighter Future.
This is an historic document. For the first time in our history we are trying to manage population growth and economic expansion in a rational, intelligent way, instead of trying to catch up to it after the fact. This is our chance – maybe our last chance – to build the future we want.
We are beginning with a discussion paper because we want to hear from Ontarians before we present a final plan in the fall. I want to hear the public’s input to determine where and how the region can best grow, so we can protect what’s valuable to Ontarians.
We are doing nothing less than planning the long-term future of this province, one region at a time, beginning in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. And we will be guided by the wisdom of the people who live here.
Now before I get into the plan itself, I want to talk a little bit about the vision that guides it. You might say it’s a matter of knowing where you’re going before you discuss how you’re going to get there.
If you asked residents of Toronto what they want to see in their community over the next 30 years…
…they’d probably answer a Stanley Cup.
I’m afraid that’s out of our hands.
But if you phrased the question more carefully, and asked not only Torontonians but people across Central Ontario—from Hamilton to Peterborough—what they want their community to be in 30 years, I suspect the answers would boil down to this:
People want to know their communities will be safe and clean—that the air will be breathable, the water safe, and local natural areas will be protected and accessible.
They want to know there will be easy access to food, shelter, education and healthcare facilities, not to mention arts and recreation.
They want communities where getting around will be easy, the roads free of gridlock—because public transit is convenient, affordable, and gets them where they want to go.
Taking Central Ontario as a whole, I believe people would say that in 30 years, this region should be an economic powerhouse of international significance…attracting business investment and jobs and functioning as Canada’s principal gateway to the world’s largest economy, the United States.
All of that, it seems to me, constitutes a vision worth having…worth working towards.
And I have to tell you it will take work, because right now that’s not where we’re headed.
Ontario doesn’t have a bad record of planning for growth, but in recent years there simply hasn’t been strong leadership from the provincial government. As well, years of poor planning have left a legacy of uncontrolled urban sprawl, traffic congestion, environmental decline, and loss of greenspace and farmland in the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
I believe we are beginning a new era of provincial leadership in growth management. We are also beginning a new working relationship with our municipal and community partners to properly prepare for the extraordinary growth that Central Ontario is experiencing…and will continue experiencing.
The Greater Golden Horseshoe is one of the fastest growing regions in Canada…one of the fastest growing on the entire continent.
This is good news. People come here because of the economic opportunities and quality of life we offer, and in doing so they further improve our economy and increase our quality of life.
It’s a virtuous circle that we don’t want to lose…but we will if we’re not careful.
Because growth at the rate we’re beginning to experience presents as many pitfalls as it does opportunities.
Think about this:
Over the next 30 years, almost four million people will move to our province...most into Central Ontario.
If you want a sense of what that number means, it would be like having every single person in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton load up the truck and head this way.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s definitely something you want to plan for.
By 2031, at the rate we’re going, average automobile travel times could increase by 45 per cent due to congestion.
Greenhouse gas emissions could increase by 42 per cent.
New development will consume more than one thousand square kilometres of valuable farmland…that’s almost double the size of Toronto.
Ladies and gentlemen, those are bad things…things you want to plan not to have happen.
And that, in essence, is what we tackle in this discussion paper. We are laying out a plan for the kind of growth Ontarians want—the kind that creates jobs, attracts investment and improves quality of life…
…while planning to avoid the kind of growth Ontarians don’t want—the kind that increases gridlock, chews up valuable greenspace, drives away investment and reduces quality of life.
The plan presents to Ontarians our thinking in four important areas; we will be asking them to give us theirs.
This plan represents an opportunity – the first opportunity in many years – to look at where and how we should be growing; how we ensure that we have the infrastructure to support that growth; how we protect our valuable resources while encouraging growth; and finally, how best to implement our overall plan.
This plan is about building a long-term growth strategy for how to invest what we’re spending; where to focus our efforts; and what provincial, federal, municipal and other stakeholders need to do to ensure that we capitalize on the potential presented by growth, and avoid the dangers.
The sad fact is that even in a province as vast as Ontario, land is a scarce commodity.
That is particularly true in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, where population growth and development pressures have led to land being consumed at a rate we simply cannot sustain.
The great urban planner Jane Jacobs once said that:
“Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings.”
We must use our old buildings, our previously developed areas, our infrastructure that is already in place.
Our plan contains several strategies for focusing development within existing urban boundaries.
They range from promoting brownfield redevelopment programs to reframing tax programs, to encouraging affordable housing, to implementing regulatory and fiscal measures that would discourage inefficient use of land.
Within our urban centres we will encourage growth in areas that have been designated priority or emerging centres…areas that feature the best transportation infrastructure, the best access to services, and the highest density of employment areas.
We will also work with municipalities to identify areas, based on strict criteria, where future growth is desirable and where it is not. Plans, including infrastructure funding decisions, can then be made accordingly.
At all times, our priority will be to steer growth, instead of simply trying to catch up with it.
It ought to be very clear that infrastructure is at the very heart—in fact it is the very heart—of this province. The strongest societies and the strongest economies are rooted in modern, efficient and affordable infrastructure.
In terms of our plan, we recognize that the infrastructure decisions we make today—from transit to schools, hospitals to water pipes—will determine how our children and their children live tomorrow.
Again: Better Choices. Brighter Future.
Our plan calls for us to identify our infrastructure priorities based on the growth management criteria I have been discussing, and setting those priorities out in a 10-year plan.
Here again…I want to emphasize the importance of infrastructure investments that steer growth rather than simply trying to catch up to it.
A key objective of our plan is to ensure that our infrastructure keeps pace with growth, now and in the future, especially in those areas where we want growth to occur.
Overall, we must focus on optimizing the use of existing infrastructure, and directing new investment towards priority urban centres.
We will also be coordinating long-term plans across the region with other levels of government, both for the sake of efficiency and—always—proper growth management.
Our plan addresses all aspects of infrastructure investment, but gives special focus to two key areas, transportation and water.
Over the next 30 years, we must build an integrated transportation network capable of moving both people and goods quickly and efficiently.
We will move people by improving urban transit, strengthening GO Transit, and building a network of High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes.
As for the movement of goods that is so very vital to our economy, we will explore a strategic approach to traffic and border crossing management, as well as future economic corridors.
This plan also envisages the creation of the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority to help improve the coordination of transportation services throughout the region.
Investment in water and wastewater infrastructure has not kept pace with growth in Central Ontario. This, frankly, is a recipe for trouble.
The McGuinty government is committed to ensuring clean and safe drinking water for Ontarians. Water infrastructure renewal plays a key role in this commitment.
Later this summer I will be announcing next steps as we go forward in our Long-Term Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Renewal and Investment Strategy.
Of course infrastructure renewal and investments to support new growth is a costly endeavour. Regrettably, poor planning and neglect by previous governments has left Ontario with an enormous infrastructure deficit, which when added to growth pressures, likely exceeds $100 billion dollars.
Later this month I will be releasing details on Ontario’s new Infrastructure Financing and Procurement Policy Framework. This policy framework will help guide our infrastructure investment and financing strategies.
As we continue to grow, and to encourage that growth, we must also be vigilant to ensure that we protect and enhance our valuable resources.
I’m talking here about agricultural land, water and mineral resources, and also—simply—the greenspace that is such a big part of our quality of life.
For our rural and agricultural communities, that means we will be preserving an important way of life…by preserving the land that makes it possible.
By encouraging growth in those areas that can best accommodate it, we will steer growth away from those areas we want to protect.
We have already taken important steps in this regard. We donated land to the Rouge Park, making it the largest natural urban park in North America, completing a green link from Lake Ontario to the Oak Ridges Moraine.
This spring we also donated land to the Lynde Marsh near Whitby, expanding protection for environmentally significant land.
Going forward, we will build on initiatives such as the Greenbelt Task Force, the Rural Strategy and watershed-based source planning to continue protecting our valuable resources for generations to come.
Now, it obviously doesn’t matter how good a plan we have if we can’t get it implemented.
It is a long way from Point A, which is this discussion paper, to Point B, which is the Greater Golden Horseshoe we want to see 30 years from now.
Getting there will require significant effort from a broad group of stakeholders, including all levels of government, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and residents of the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
This government will make it a priority to establish strong partnerships right across the board.
We must have the federal government on board, and every time I go to Ottawa to speak with my federal counterparts, I’ll be bringing this plan.
At the municipal level, we will be looking at growth management criteria, clear and fair division of responsibilities, and a set of fiscal and regulatory tools that will help our municipal partners support the goals and programs in the plan.
We will work with developers and builders to ensure there is enough land, both new and infill, to support population and economic growth in priority growth areas.
Within our own provincial government, this plan has seen nine ministers—and countless staff at nine different ministries—working together to implement the overall vision…led by Premier McGuinty.
I have mentioned several of the initiatives that are being brought together in this plan, like the Greenbelt Task Force, the Rural Strategy, the Water and Wastewater Strategy and the 10-Year Infrastructure Plan.
The fact that so many people, working on so many different files, can be brought together as part of one overall strategy says a great deal about their commitment, as well as the commitment of the government they work for.
Finally, ladies and gentlemen, we will involve the people of the Greater Golden Horseshoe in the full development of this plan. As we move forward to develop growth strategies for other regions, we will involve people in those regions as well.
We will hold public information sessions to provide the public with the information they need to then give us the input we need.
Because we need to know what people think. We need to know what you think.
As I said at the outset, we want your feedback, we want your ideas, and we will be guided by your wisdom.
We all have a stake in this.
Thirty years from now, those of you with young children will be watching your grandchildren grow up in the very communities whose future we are planning today.
Thirty years from now, many of us look forward to having been comfortably put out to pasture…and for myself I want to be sure that there still are pastures within driving distance of wherever I am.
And 30 years from now, this region of Ontario, anchored by Toronto, with its proximity to the United States, its resources, its skilled workforce…
…this region must continue to be an economic powerhouse, and we must make sure that we grow in a way that realizes that potential, instead of undermining it.
In closing, governments are often pressed, if not measured on what you have done for me lately more than what you will do for me tomorrow.
Good governments recognize the importance of both. The McGuinty government will never lose sight of tomorrow.
Our government was elected on a promise to bring positive change to this province; change that will result in a better quality of life for Ontarians, their children, and their grandchildren.
This is what Places to Grow: Better Choices. Brighter Future is all about.
The McGuinty government’s vision for growth signals a new era in community planning and cooperation with municipalities to manage growth, support economic development and re-invest in public infrastructure and protect our natural environment.
We are bringing real, positive change that will lay the foundation today for how we live tomorrow, by having a strategy for building stronger communities and improving the quality of life for the people of Ontario.
It is a plan that spans years. It spans government mandates. It spans generations.
It looks to the future of a great province…in order to ensure that future will be a great one.
Thank you.