I have recently been made…

I have recently been made aware of this bill, and I see many very troubling issues in this bill which will weaken water protections and increase exposure to environmental risks. The most troubling aspect is given the omnibus nature of this bill, I would assert that the general public is unaware of the many critical changes that will be made to various acts and there is insufficient time to properly review and respond.

Most notably:

Schedules 9 and 16 very sweeping, and should be struck from Bill 132 until adequate public consultation on environment and human health risks can be conducted and considered in a redrafting of the proposed changes.

We should not be changing per diem penalties to capped one-off penalties. This results in penalties being treated as "Cost of doing business". We must also retain the reverse onus clause in the Environmental Protection Act and the Ontario Water Resources Act.

Good science is driven by good data, and single-year data does not provide a baseline for identification of trends. We must maintain the mandatory five year reviews of AMPs under the Environmental Protection Act and the Ontario Water Resources Act.

Schedules 9 and 14 of Bill 132 both will increase exposure to chemicals in general, but 14 will subject workers in Ontario to undue chemical exposure, and will remove regulatory protections from potentially harmful new chemicals.

Finally, Section 3 of Schedule 16 will inhibit municipalities' ability to issue zoning-bylaws for depth of extraction, and threaten local water tables and Ontario drinking water.

Finally, the amendments proposed to section 18(2) of the Aggregate Resources Act will remove oversight with regard to potentially impactful project scope changes and will remove extraction depth limits, threatening drinking water.

I call on the Ministry to hit pause, and allow for fulsome review, public consultation and debate on this omnibus bill. Ontario does not want to threaten our natural resources and the health and safety of its citizens, which will undoubtedly be the outcome of this bill if it remains as written.