by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
COBDEN — The local chapter of the Ontario Landowners Association is warning residents not to be complacent in knowing what’s going on with the Renfrew County Official Plan.
And, although the next municipal election is two years away, it’s time now to search out landowners who would make suitable municipal councillors – people who understand the constitution.
Donna Burns, president of the Renfrew-Pembroke-Nipissing chapter of the Ontario Landowners Association (RPN OLA) was the main speaker at a meeting in Cobden Friday night about what could happen if property owners are not aware of the significance of an official plan. While the focus was on the Renfrew County Official Plan because it’s up for a five-year review, she did state landowners should know what’s happening with any official plan that could affect property they own.
At meeting’s end, Ms. Burns said many people are not aware of the official plan or what it means to them. The county recently held public meetings to give updates about the official plan, but not many people attended. She also noted the deadline for making written submissions is Friday, Sept. 30.
She discovered that property owners who do not speak up about the plan and how it affects their property are giving implied consent they agree with any land designations once the official plan is passed.
“This was our way of sharing the information we know and think they should know,” Ms. Burns said. “It’s not only happening in Renfrew County. Some places have already gone ahead and approved their official plans and people didn’t, and still don’t realize, about the implied consent – that’s the scary part.”
This silent implied consent is very dangerous, she said.
In a 90-minute presentation to a little more than 200 people, Ms. Burns explained that there were seven different public meetings held by Renfrew County staff over a two-week span regarding the five-year review of the Renfrew County Official Plan, of which Whitewater Region is a part of. What she, along with other OLA members noticed, was that not many people were attending. She noted at the Cobden and Eganville meetings, about 20 people attended, along with OLA members and public officials; four attended the meeting in McNab Braeside Township and not one person or public official attended the Calabogie public meeting. Other meetings were held in Chalk River, Horton Township and Barry’s Bay.
Ms. Burns said following the third meeting with almost no residents or public officials attending, she figured out what was going on.
“The county advertised these public meetings, as they are supposed to do, and many people don’t know what an official plan is,” she said. “The meetings were advertised in newspapers. I don’t know how many people get newspapers, I don’t for one. So, if you didn’t read about it in the newspapers, you wouldn’t be aware of it.
“Those who don’t show up at a public meeting are deemed to be giving implied consent, meaning you are approving what these official plans are,” she said.
Pointing to the maps to her left, which showed various designations, such as natural heritage protection, mineral and aggregate and hazards, Ms. Burns said these maps show the designations on private property.
“That’s pretty scary,” she said, adding, “So, for all you people who did not go to these meetings, you were basically giving approval for designations to be on your private property.”
Once the public meetings are held, Ms. Burns noted county staff will take the official plan back to county council and it either gives approval or not. If county council gives approval, the official plan is then sent to the provincial government for approval, and once it gives approval, the regulations begin, she explained.
Ms. Burns noted that people had to sign in that they attended a public meeting and put a check mark in the square that you wanted to be notified if county council adopted the official plan. Written submissions are also being accepted until Friday, Sept. 30.
However, Ms. Burns noted once the county adopted the official plan, residents who had previously submitted a written submission, had 20 days after approval to provide a second written submission.
She further added that if a landowner did not make any submissions and did not like the land designation on his or her private land, there was no chance to appeal.
“(The OLA) felt the people need to understand what happens and what you need to know and why you need to be educated on this,” Ms. Burns said.
Explaining the designations, she said Eco Region 6E, of which areas of Renfrew County are a part of, including all of Whitewater Region, Horton, and McNab Braeside townships and parts of the township of Admaston/Bromley, Laurentian Valley, North-Algona-Wilberforce and Petawawa, is a provincial regulation of natural heritage umbrella, which includes provincially significant woodlands and the valley lands.
Significant woodlands means no work can be done on this designated land unless there are no negative impacts on the area, she said.
“That’s a restriction,” she said.
She recalled a few years ago when Thunderhouse Forestry staff were going onto private property – without permission – to test the vegetation, flowers, etc. When the OLA heard they were going onto private property without permission, “We prevented that from going any further, at least without consent of the property owner.”
Valley lands are a natural area that occurs in a valley or other lands where there is water flowing or standing for a period of years, she said. If valley lands are designated on a private property, there would also have to be a buffer of land around the water, which means a loss of more private land, she explained.
“This would mean restriction on development, because they want to ensure, under the natural protection umbrella, that there is no negative impact on the natural features or ecological functions of this area,” Ms. Burns said.
She also noted that site alteration bylaws may be implemented, which means no soil can be moved from that property to another property, or, even from one area on your property to another area on the same property, because it is disturbing the ground.
The agriculture designation is significant in some areas, such as Horton Township, she said. There is no good, quality agricultural land within the township, yet the county has changed the designation from rural land to agricultural lands, which means no development can occur on it, Ms. Burns explained.
“This means your property value decreases,” she said. “All of these designations mean property devaluation.”
Ms. Burns did admit she’s not really sure what all these designations mean to private property owners, but, that’s the question.
“How is this going to affect private property,” she questioned.
She noted that private property owners from other areas that fall under an official plan have seen the effects of land being designated without their knowledge. One man noted he owned property for more than four decades. When he went to sell 10 acres of it, the real estate agent said the land was designated as environmentally protected. When the owner spoke to the Ministry of Natural Resources, staff advised yes, it was protected, and could not be sold.
However, this property owner lost financially, because, not only could he not sell the property, which he was hoping to get about $50,000 for, but he could not use the land, but yet, has to continue paying the taxes on it.
During the public meetings hosted by the county staff, Ms. Burns said there was a generic 40-minute presentation and then people were only allowed togive comments and ask questions, but receive no answers. She explained that all comments and questions, along with answers, would be put on the county’s official plan area of its website.
Ms. Burns said for those who did not provide a written submission, she is providing a generic letter that can be used as a written submission advising the county it cannot put a designation on the private property. However, she stated, the submission must be at the county office by Sept. 30.
“If you don’t want your property designated, then use this letter,” she said. “In the municipal act, it states they do not have authority to do anything with your land without your consent. They have to acquire your property. It’s written in the planning act and it’s written in the municipal act. They have to acquire your property before they can do anything with it.
“They have not been doing that,” Ms. Burns stated.
She explained that by giving your silent agreement, this allows the county to expropriate your land without giving compensation.
“In the municipal act, under Section 6, it tells you if they want to use the power to expropriate the land, they have to follow the expropriations act,” she said.
The designations will restrict land use and the resources from your land will decrease, as will property values, she continued. Then, if a person decides to sell the property, there will be various studies that may have to be conducted, which may make it not for sale due to what may or may not be found during the studies, she added.
“You must make sure the prospective buyer is aware of what’s on your land,” Ms. Burns said.
Shutting Down Rural Ontario
A resource from the McGuinty government in 2003 titled Small, Rural and Remote Communities: The Anatomy of Risk appears to be a blueprint to shut down rural Ontario, Ms. Burns said. While reading a few paragraphs from the book, she encouraged the audience to pay attention to what has happened in the past 13 years since this resource was first published.
A strategy must develop policies that would anticipate and accommodate wide-spread population decline, she read. There should be restrictions of where development occurs without guaranteed access to public services, she continued.
“So, what have we lost in the past 13 years,” she questioned. “We’ve lost schools; we’ve lost some of our post offices; scheduling of bus travel to major cities has been decreased; shutting down the expansion of Highway 17; closing some local newspapers and how many businesses have shut down?”
Going back to reading, the book further states that residents in various communities have to be convinced their communities are shrinking and how to work within the smaller communities.
“So, since this report, some of the innovative methods for downsizing could be the creation of the Endangered Species Act, which came in in 2007 and the restrictions on anyone who is trying to develop or anyone who’s gone through the experience of trying to get a land severance,” she said.
Hydro rates are also “pretty innovative” she said.
Then, the sensitive lake issue is another restriction Ms. Burns said. How is it possible in 2016 that blue-green algae blooms cannot be cleaned, she questioned.
“What I find very interesting, and this is just my opinion, I find it really interesting that of the 444 municipalities in Ontario, about 360 are controlled by OCWA, the Ontario Clean Water Agency, a government entity,” she said. (She’s referring to OCWA having control and operation of the wastewater (sewage) and water treatment plants.)
“I’m not a scientist, but it was brought to my attention how you can clean your water using a fish tank analysis,” she noted.
Easy Solution to Clean Lakes
Ms. Burns noted that clean water requires oxygen. The blue-green algae blooms that occur smother the oxygen, which kills the lake. She then asked Robert Afelskie, who was once employed by OCWA, to explain the method in which to clean the lakes.
“It’s a simple answer, it’s not complicated, you don’t have to be a scientist, I’ve done a lot of research in my time,” Mr. Afelskie said.
Explaining the fish-tank analysis, Mr. Afelskie said that instead of putting in chemicals to do clean-up, use a diffuser to pump air into the water, and within 24 hours the water in the tank is clear. This could also be done in a lake, but on a much larger scale, he added.
He further noted that wind energy can be used to clear up the algae and other toxins. There are no algae blooms in the middle of a lake, because the wind churns up the water, he said. The algae blooms are mostly found near the edges of the lakes, there the water is still.
In a research article Mr. Afelskie read, it stated, “Every chemical toxin that man has made, can be neutralized by oxygen, that includes radiation.”
Continuing with Mr. McGuinty’s report, Ms. Burns said it states that under economic development, communities without sufficient potential, the goal should be to facilitate downsizing in an orderly and systematically way.
“I think they’re trying to do that, don’t you agree,” she stated, adding, “The official plans are a means to facilitate the downsizing in an orderly and systematic way, because we are not getting growth and development with all this regulation.
“We are being restricted from anything for improvement,” Ms. Burns said.
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The province owns 87 percent of the landmass in Ontario, which means only 13 percent is privately owned, she said.
“My guess is, they’re after our 13 percent,” she said.
Ms. Burns suggested landowners submit the generic letter to the county by Sept. 30.
“These letters put them on notice that we do not give consent to have our properties included within the municipal planning area,” she said continuing. “I’m not telling anyone what to do, it’s up to you.
“We do not know how this is going to go through. The province is bound and determined to take our land,” Ms. Burns said. “They’re going to do it no matter what we do.
“We have to fight, all of us have to participate in it ourselves. We have to go to our local councils and we have to let them know how we feel.”
Ms. Burns also suggested property owners pay to have an appraised market value done on their property, so that if the official plan is approved and their land devalues, the property owner will have valid proof of what was the market value. If that happens, there are options for legal action, which includes going to Small Claims Court.
Municipal Election 2018
While the next municipal election is still two years away, the OLA is suggesting people should begin thinking about running as a candidate in the 2018 municipal election who will start to reverse the process that protects the future of our communities and prosperities, Ms. Burns said.
“This is where we can make a difference at the municipal level,” she said. “We need to be looking for candidates who understand the constitution and who will repeal all these bylaws that are now threatening to infringe on our private property rights.
“Plus, we need municipal candidates who will not be dependent on their honourariums,” she continued. “What I see, right now, these municipal councillors go in gung-ho because they’re going to change everything. They want transparency. They’re going to do all this stuff. They have great intentions.
“But, once they get in there, the county starts dangling this carrot over their head and starts telling them, ‘you know what, you guys work so hard, you need an increase.’ And they’re not going to say no to that increase. You need more money for your gas mileage, you need more money for your honourariums, what about your special meetings, you should be getting money for that too.
“So, they go for that,” she said. “But then, when it comes to saying no to the county for the official plan, how hard is that?”
Municipal councillors who don’t care about these honouariums are who should be representing you, Ms. Burns said.
While they may not be well paid, “they cannot get sucked in by the dollar hanging over their head, because that’s what changes them.”
Guest speaker Nick Vandergragt of Killaloe said it’s time to “start fighting fire with fire.
“How hard would it be to elect a slate of candidates that have a common value, that have a common belief.
“It’s time to establish a municipal party system now, because we don’t have a lot of time.”
Mr. Vandergragt said it’s time to adopt the attitude that it’s cultural, to do something that is just like eating and breathing.
“Get involved in campaigns, become a soldier in the battlefield, because this is a war,” he said. “We are at war, just like we were against Hitler. The difference is we aren’t using weapons, we’re using the political process, but it’s just as important as that one was.
“If we lose this war, then everything they died for goes down the drain, and I am not going to let that happen,” Mr. Vandergragt stated.
He sent out a challenge that a recent organization was formed to not only help people become municipal councillors, but to be better activists. Councils only have to have a majority of landowners as part of the elected officials – not the whole council, he said.
“We’re lousy activists,” he said. “No disrespect to the landowners’ groups, I love them to death. They’re doing good work.
“But, let’s face it, we have to stop doing it this way, meeting in a hot and humid room on a Friday evening. Because this way, we’re always going to be doing it and in the long run we will lose – and I don’t like losing.”
The issues throughout Eastern Ontario are generally the same, Mr. Vandergragt said, adding, so there is no need to have independent campaigns.
“Why not have one group that helps everybody,” he said. “We all have a common goal, let’s work together.
“We are fiercely independent, but that’s also our biggest weakness.”
Explaining, he said if two people don’t agree with each other, they go their separate ways instead of trying to put it aside and realize they won’t agree on everything.
“Let’s put petty differences aside and pull the wagon together,” he said.
At meeting’s end, Mr. Vandergragt said he would stay and people could sign up for the group that was going to be formed to help municipal elections throughout Eastern Ontario in 2018.
The group is Blue Committee and is designed to help people learn how to be effective politicians, so they understand their role, they understand their place in the world.
“It makes them more effective at how democracy works, understanding how, when they take that oath, what it means,” he said. “When they take the oath to the crown, it’s to the people, not to Queen’s Park. They need to understand that.
“When people get this frustrated, you have two choices,” Mr. Vandergragt said. “You can go home and just burn out and say to hell with it all and bad things happen when that happens; or you can say look, we have a plan, and this is our plan and this is how we are going to about changing things. It won’t happen overnight, but we’re in it for the long haul.”
For more information on any of the items discussed at the meeting, check out the landowners website or the Blue Committee site.
