As a resident of Ontario…

As a resident of Ontario with a young child who cares about averting the worst impacts of climate change, I strongly oppose this proposal. Removing the requirement to get a permit before beginning work means weakening oversight on projects that can harm important habitats, biodiversity and our climate. Ontario’s economic growth can’t happen at the expense of our climate resilience. The economic and personal cost of climate disasters and the health effects of pollution are not worth the economic growth that this bill would ´unleash’. It should also be noted that the government’s priorities could focus on projects that would not carry as much risk or such a great environmental toll - green energy projects that promote our energy independence, public transit projects that can move people more efficiently than highways, and projects that move our economy into a green future rather than attempting to move us back into a past that no longer makes logical or economic sense.