To whom it may concern…

To whom it may concern

Ontario's conservation authority lands, along with our provincial parks are the jewels of our province and have been held in trust by successive governments since their inception. It has been the commonly held understanding that these "conservancy" lands would in fact be conserved in perpetuity. Having lived in Ontario for 63 years I would never have considered that these lands, or the Bruce Trail whose motto is "Preserving a ribbon of wilderness, for everyone, forever" could be threatened with development.

The Bruce Trail connects through land held and cared for by seven conservation authorities, representing 46 conservation areas along the Bruce Trail. Of the 70.2% of the 900 km Bruce Trail that is secured on permanently protected land, 25% or 146 km crosses conservation authority lands. The changes in Bill 23 could result in the permanent loss of the Bruce Trail and the conservation corridor containing it. This is a serious concern for the Bruce Trail Conservancy and all those who enjoy the iconic 900 km Bruce Trail.

Having hiked the entire length of the trail I can say with some authority that many of the developed lands and areas that already exist adjoining the edges of the trail contain large, very expensive, mansion like homes that do not represent the type of additional housing that could in any way be imagined as "affordable". The proposed development areas will destroy the very places that the folks who can't afford these lovely homes overlooking pristine nature lands can now access to enjoy our provinces natural gifts.

I'm not politically ideological, and in fact have voted for the present government's party more than any other. This is the first time in my life that I've felt betrayed and upset enough to provide comment on a proposed bill. Please be assured that should you go ahead with this legislation I will not only never consider voting for your party again, but will do whatever I can to ensure its obstruction.