As a volunteer with Safe…

As a volunteer with Safe Wings Ottawa and Bird-friendly Cities, I urge you to reflect on the broader implications of Bill 23. In particular this section of Bill 23.

" Changes are proposed to limit the scope of site plan control by removing the ability for municipalities to regulate architectural details and landscape design".

Limiting the ability for municipalities to regulate architectural details and landscape design removes the ability of municipalities to implement Green Standards or Bird-Friendly Design guidelines.

I also urge you to incorporate the Canadian Standards Association A460:19 Bird-friendly building design standard into the Ontario Building code. By mandating bird-friendly building construction measures in the Building Code, Ontario could significantly reduce the vast number of birds that die needlessly each year.

It is estimated that every year, about 25 million birds are killed by colliding with windows in Canada. In the Ottawa area, Safe Wings Ottawa estimates that 1.5 million birds collide with buildings each year and has documented birds from 144 species – including 14 species at risk – that have collided with buildings in the Ottawa Area. The risk to birds extends throughout the Province of Ontario despite proven, affordable solutions to this problem. In 2019, the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks funded the development of the Canadian Standards Association A460:19 Bird-friendly building design standard, which was later endorsed by the Ontario Association of Architects.2 However, the standard remains voluntary in Ontario.

The Building Code should be revised to incorporate the Bird Collision Mitigation Strategies from CSA A460:19, including the appropriate use of visual markers, specifications for window glazing and glass railings, and building-integrated structures. Implementing bird friendly design in new buildings typically represents a negligible (< 1%) increase in overall construction cost and does not impede development. By mandating bird-friendly building construction measures, Ontario could significantly reduce this leading source of bird mortality. In so doing, it could make meaningful progress on its stated goal of protecting species and supporting conservation efforts to preserve Ontario’s rich biodiversity (Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan).

The Ontario government is proposing changes through Bill 23 “More Homes Built Faster Act” 2022 that would remove the authority of municipal governments to enforce green building standards such as the . This will result in the discontinuation of bird friendly building design guidelines that have been adopted and enforced through site plan control by numerous municipalities across Ontario, including: Ajax, Aurora, Brampton, Burlington, East Gwillimbury, Fort Erie, Guelph, King, London, Markham, Mississauga, Newmarket, Ottawa, Pickering, Richmond Hill, Toronto, Vaughan and others. The latest update to Ontario’s Building Code should include a harmonized approach to bird friendly building design under the A460:19 standard.

We trust that you will seriously consider the benefits of incorporating strategies from the CSA A460:19 standard into the next edition of Ontario’s Building Code.