This is to inform you and…

This is to inform you and our government that as an Ontario citizen I am very opposed to all the proposed changes to policies regarding our Ontario wetlands in order to allow development and housing on them.
Together these changes would greatly erode the small power that our conservation authorities still have and the necessity for proper environmental studies to be done, and would greatly undermine municipal land use planning and the rights of citizens to be consulted —- thus in total destroying the few remaining protections that we still have for these vital natural resources.

And wetlands are crucial: to preserving wildlife habitat and to preserving a liveable environment for human beings: by sequestering carbon and mitigating climate change; by storing and filtering water and water runoff; and by protecting against droughts, wildfires, flooding and extreme weather and other damaging effects of climate change. They are vital and valuable natural infrastructure and should be seen and valued and conserved as such.

Moreover these proposed new policies would promote still MORE urban sprawl, bringing more GHG emitting traffic and high emissions industrial development into our rapidly dwindling green space —- thus further exacerbating the Climate Crisis which is already endangering our health, safety, and wellbeing, and rendering the province’s climate targets unreachable.

Our housing needs, particularly for more low-cost housing, can and should be met instead by policies permitting and promoting higher density residential development WITHIN our municipalities —- including by more infilling, addition of “granny suites”, and “tiny houses”. NOT by paving over our vital wetlands!
Thus I most strongly urge that these proposed changes NOT be enacted or implemented.