Farmland MZOs: Paving the Breadbasket
Ford's government issued 114 Minister's Zoning Orders between 2019-2023 — 17 times more than the previous 20 years combined. Agricultural land rezoned via MZOs saw an average 46% value increase. The 2024 Provincial Planning Statement further weakened farmland protections, accelerating Ontario's loss of 319 acres of farmland per day.
🌲 An in effect Environment policy from June 2019 · Well sourced
Updated · Created
"Building Housing on Available Land"
Using Minister's Zoning Orders to fast-track housing development on land near existing infrastructure, bypassing slow municipal processes.
"These MZOs help get shovels in the ground faster, create jobs and support local priorities."
— Steve Clark, Housing Minister, AMO conference, August 2020
"Paving Over Prime Farmland for Connected Developers"
Multiple MZOs were issued specifically for prime agricultural land owned by developers with ties to the PC party. These bypass environmental assessments, public consultation, and local planning — the same approach as the Greenbelt removals, applied case by case.
- MZOs used on Class 1 farmland — Ontario's most productive agricultural soilsource
- Developers who received MZOs made significant donations to the Ontario PC Partysource
- Municipal councils overridden — local governments opposed several MZOssource
- Environmental assessments bypassed for wetlands and wildlife habitatsource
This section represents editorial interpretation of documented evidence.
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