I applaud the review of any…

I applaud the review of any legislation that needs refreshing in order to help sustain Ontario's natural spaces.

Having said that, however, the automatic review process of a government who has a habit of wanting to hide its decisions so early in its own tenure makes me nervous/terrified that its intentions are only superficially good.

This Ontario government is hitting its classic notes of "say one thing to gain your trust sort of" and then doing another. It was elected with zero environmental mandate - and also promised to leave Ontario's Greenbelt intact.

Bill 66 - to our collective horror - was tabled before Christmas, making this paper, at best, a superficial exercise. This has been championed by the Minister for Environment as a great step forward at enabling environmental oversight.

This specific exercise carried out by the Ministry might be very well in earnest. And if so, I applaud the attempt to streamline processes to gain clarity with regard to making endangered species (AND the spaces in which they live) a top priority with a clear direction forward.

Which brings me to this "cited challenge" in the paper released by the Ministry of Environment:

"Enforcement powers are
inconsistent across authorizations
and regulations, which can limit
the ability to inspect and enforce
compliance with regulations."

How is the Ministry expected to enforce anything when environmental regulations are slated to be gutted and put into the laps of individual municipalities?

This paper, in tandem with the legislation tabled in Bill 66, makes zero sense.

It's almost as though it's a political tool to make the provincial administration look good while simultaneously dismantling regulation as much as it pleases - to the benefit of the few. Spoiler alert: It totally is.

We all live on the same planet. We currently have the ability to avert environmental disaster, and being such a huge land mass, help the global fight against climate change.

As a young Ontarian who will see the planet degrade when you've all long retired and your mistakes have fallen out of collective memory, I'm horrified by these actions.

To the environment minister: We do not trust you. You're essentially not allowing the Ministry to do its job in a fair and impartial manner based in scientific analysis. Your proposals are a superficial way to cover up an otherwise openly corrupt government.

Many describe this as "stealing from our future to pay for your present." Stop stealing from us. Leave environmental regulation alone.