Greetings to All! With a very active February at both the community and provincial levels, it was timely to send an update and information to the CCKT membership and community members who may be interested.
King Township Official Plan Review – Update
Thank you to many CCKT members who attended one or more of the three Open Houses that were organized by King Township and held in Schomberg, King City, and Nobleton in January. There was a very informative presentation at each Open House given by King planners and planning consultants. There was ample opportunity to speak with members of the Official Plan (OP) Review Planning Team, view maps and share comments, and many members of the public engaged and shared viewpoints on a number of proposed significant changes to King’s Official Plan.
Accommodating forecast population and employment growth to 2051 have led to the need to update King’s OP and many of the proposed changes. The population is forecast to grow to about 51,000 and employment
Perhaps of most significance to CCKT are the proposed expansions to Settlement Area boundaries of King City and Schomberg that expand into Greenbelt Countryside and White Belt lands that are being actively farmed south of Laskay. Currently there is a proposal to include a commercial zone just southeast of the King Road–400 interchange on land that has been productive farmland for many years. Concerns include removing Greenbelt Countryside lands to accommodate this, plus the long distance and poor connection to King City. In addition, we note that two options were proposed for a large employment area in the south part of the Nobleton “community reserve” lands.
A Staff Report with an update on the OP Review is on the agenda for the Council Meeting this Monday, February 24th. The meeting begins at 6:00 p.m. The public may speak to the report, and also may continue to provide input through SpeaKING – OP Review accessed on the Township website. Here is a link to the OP Review where you may find materials, maps and submit comments
https://speaking.king.ca/our-king-official-plan-review
Ontario Election and All Candidates Meetings
An important part of CCKT’s mission is to engage the public in issues of importance to the King Township community and to become well-informed. For many years CCKT has organized and held “All Candidates Meetings”, welcomed all candidates and the public to attend, and to encourage active participation in elections at all levels – municipal, provincial and municipal.
For the current Ontario election (Feb. 27) CCKT reached out to all the registered candidates in early February for the King-Vaughan riding to invite them to attend a candidates meeting in King Township. However, we only received a response from one candidate who confirmed a commitment to attend. We understand that all over Ontario the story is virtually the same. A number of candidates meetings in other ridings have gone ahead with one or more of the local candidates missing.
It is with great disappointment and concern to see this growing trend in elections across Ontario. In our view, it is a sad era in Canadian politics where many, many candidates are not attending election townhall meetings to discuss important issues and to share their platforms with the electorate in a public forum.
In an effort to encourage engagement of the public in the election, have thoughtful conversations and to raise significant provincial issues, CCKT submitted the following letter to the King Weekly Sentinel:
Provincial Election: Public Engagement
A Perspective from Concerned Citizens of King Township
As Ontario plunges into a provincial election this winter, what are the issues that are important to you and Ontario? What do you think should be highlighted and discussed with candidates and others in meetings, media, door-to-door, and in informal conversations?
As a citizen-based organization, Concerned Citizens of King Township (CCKT) believes the collective voices of citizens need to be listened to and heard, and encourages the respectful sharing of perspectives on various issues of importance. Wisdom so often comes from the thoughtful counsel of many. A number of issues come to mind:
– Attainable housing in Ontario to meet a wide variety of needs.
– Well-designed communities that are healthy, walkable and liveable.
– Effective transportation systems that reduce gridlock, sprawl and GHG emissions.
– Long term preservation of the Greenbelt and valuable farmland.
– Protection and enhancement of natural spaces to increase bio-diversity.
– Accessible high quality health care when each person needs it.
– Innovative businesses and projects with the future in view.
– A diverse and sustainable economy that creates jobs and opportunities for everyone.
– Affordable, clean, renewable, efficient and reliable energy.
– Effective actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Likely you can list additional key issues.
Of note, the last Ontario provincial election (June 2022) set a record for the lowest voter turnout in an Ontario provincial election, as only 44.06% of the people who were eligible voted. CCKT encourages the electorate of the King-Vaughan Riding and beyond to become well-informed, and to act on the privilege and opportunity we have of voting in the provincial election.
Options for Voting:
- Returning Office (Now until February 26);
- Advance Poll (February 20 to 22);
- Election Day (February 27)
With great hope for a bright and compassionate future for everyone,
In Closing
Thank you to everyone for your ongoing interest and active support for CCKT and the pressing issues of this current time. We welcome hearing from members. We are also grateful for partnerships with a number of other citizen organizations: Environmental Defence Canada, Climate Action King (CAK), Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition (RLSC), Alliance for a Liveable Ontario (ALO), Ontario Nature, STORM Coalition and others.
Thank you to those who have renewed their membership for 2025. Membership renewals may be completed through the CCKT website or sent in through regular mail. We welcome new members. All the very best to everyone.
Sincerely, Bruce Craig, Chair, on behalf of the whole CCKT Board:
Bruce Craig, Fred Jessop, Lee Ann Kraft, Geoff Simpson, Cathy Wellesley
You are welcome to contact the CCKT Board through the CCKT website or through regular mail.
Website: www.cckt.ca
Mailing address is: Box 875, King City, Ontario, L7B 1A9
Photo from the Goldie Feldman Nature Reserve, King Township.