Boreal Forest Medieval Villages (“BFMV”) targets and purchases large acreage in unorganized townships to exploit the absence of zoning restrictions or building permit requirements to build "off-grid communities"

BFMV's plan has 80 families sharing ownership of this one property, circumventing an environmental severance freeze put in place for Kenogami Lake, as well as the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing's ("MMAH") decision not to allow the SAME property to be split in two (let alone 80) in 2020. This "loophole subdivision" would significantly increase the already-saturated lake's population.

In 2020, the MMAH had requested opinions on any concerns from the Town of Kirkland Lake, a nearby community, and the District Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry ("MNRF") office. The Town of Kirkland Lake opposed the severance proposal, and the MNRF did as well as MMAH ultimately denied the draft request to sever. This clearly highlights the exploitation of the current loophole.

• Unregulated deforestation, septic & greywater systems would pose significant environmental, fisheries & wildlife impacts on land & lakes. Algae blooms are currently observed due to overdevelopment and have been reported to the Ministry of Environment Conservation & Parks ("MECP") by a Ph.D. environmental scientist. Adding 80 unregulated grey water and natural septics (outhouses and/or composting toilets) will exacerbate the issue.
• Grossly impacts local services such as the already-stretched healthcare system, local emergency response services. The Kenogami and District Fire Brigade stated, "we strenuously object to this type of development...the Fire Brigade would be obligated to provide fire protection and prevention services for hundreds of new residents for the taxation cost of just a few... we can afford neither the financial nor the personnel cost" 
• With BFMV's site 3 and site 4, the local waste disposal sites would add ~250 households.
• BFMV pays for one property tax (split by members) yet will use all local services, forcing other district residents to disproportionately pay for expansions.

There has been no first nation or community consultation. There have been no baseline studies, predictive modeling, or proposed monitoring for impacts, nor is there any mention of mitigation measures and adaptive management strategies.

Under the Planning Act, these "villages" directly violate the 2020 Provincial Policy Statement, section 1.1.6.

Overall, the impact on the environment, the strain on the ecosystem, the well-being of the residents, and district services would unacceptably outweigh their economic contribution to the area. If BFMV or similar entities can continue to exploit properties in unorganized townships, severe irreversible damages will result.

We, the undersigned Ontario Residents, call upon the Honorable Minister Steve Clark (Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing) to enact zone orders (section 46 & 47 of the Provincial Planning Act) immediately in all areas of the Boreal Forest Medieval Villages (“BFMV”) and/or similar entities who are in direct violation of the Ontario Planning Act, Provincial Policy Statement, 2020 section 1.1.6.