Dear Ministers, This is a…

Dear Ministers,
This is a very dangerous slope you on which Ontario has been placed for a number of reasons, none of which is not in the best interest of Ontarians. I am against ALL ASPECTS of Bill 23 and call for the ministers to immediately repeal Bill 23 for the following reasons. Firstly, Doug Ford said he would NOT develop the greenbelt under any circumstance.

Secondly, this undermines all that democracy is about. Democracy should not be about people with the most money, or political contributions, being able to determine laws. Silvio DeGasperis, President of TACC Construction Ltd. and TACC Developments donated $23,960 to Doug Ford, while the DeGasperis family, TACC Construction and TACC Developments have donated an additional $55,236.43 to the Ontario PCs. Furthermore, TACC’s lobbyists including PC insiders Peter Van Loan and Amir Remtulla, recently worked in Doug Ford’s office! TACC stands to gain the most as it has the most land holdings in this proposed land transfer. That being said, "at least four developers who bought the properties the government is now proposing to remove from the Greenbelt have either donated to the PC Party, hired conservative lobbyists, or both." (Globe and Mail, November 28, 2022). Fire is further added to this fire as Premier Ford and Minster Lecce both have benefited from gifts from the DeGasperis family in holidaying with them in Florida, attending a Tampa Bay Lightning game in the DeGasperis’ private luxury suite in Miami, FL. This is a direct breech of the ethics on the part of Premier Ford and Minister Lecce. Though it is similar to Prime Minister Trudeau visiting Aga Kahn’s island, it is dissimilar as the benefits being returned to the DeGasperis' will cause grave HARM TO ONTARIANS.

How will it harm Ontarians?

The loss of wetlands, farmlands and forests; all which are protective factors from climate change, put Ontarians, and the world, in harm’s way. Climate change is a major concern for most Ontarian's. We are concerned about increased storms, winds, flooding, like we have seen in the derecho storm and a tornado a few weeks later this spring, causing massive damage and problems for many Ontario communities. Ontario does not typically have storms like this, but we will if climate change is not IMMEDIATELY SOLVED/ADDRESSED.

Wetlands store large amounts of water, like a sponge, and clean it from contaminants. Contaminant’s in Ontario’s groundwater and lake water will be disastrous for all of Ontario. In 2017, Ontario, along with Quebec and Alberta exported $138.8 M of bottled water. What will happen when this water is contaminated because of a lack of wetlands filtering runoff into groundwater?

Furthermore, the amount of water that wetlands can store far exceeds the amount of water that is able to flow through storm sewars to Lake Ontario. Thus wetlands protect those millions of people living along Lake Ontario, Lake Scugog, inclusive of the Scugog First Nations, from begin flooded out, like Toronto Island was a few years ago. Allowing for the development of wetlands will be, without a doubt, disastrous, as it means flooding and contaminated water sources.

Further harm will come to Ontarians through climate change to which these developments will contribute. Farmlands provide locally sourced foods, which decreases transport costs and therefore greenhouse gases. Farmlands also synthesis carbon dioxide into oxygen, decreasing the carbon footprint of Ontario. Forest and wetlands absorb and store incredibly large amounts of carbon within the soil and peat. EVERY TIME SOIL/PEAT/SUBSTRATE IS DISTURBED, CARBON IS RELEASED. Not only do wetlands, forests and certain types of farming sequester and store carbon, the plants themselves create oxygen from the carbon dioxide, which is needed to address climate change. We need to be protecting more green spaces and planting more trees, especially to meet targets set out by many UN conventions on climate change and biodiversity. Destroying habitat and purposefully linked habitat by development will decrease biodiversity, which is already plummeting around the world.

Additionally, one reason the greenbelt was created was to ensure clean drinking water for thousands of Ontarian's. With these developments, and the damage development does to water filtration, it is most likely that ground water will be compromised. Lastly, the tearing up of farmland will inevitable reduce the amount of food grown in Ontario to be available to Ontarian's to eat. Doug Ford was right in wanting Ontario to be self-sufficient when he was talking about masks for COVID-19. We are able to grow so much food in Ontario, however, with the lack of protection/development of farm land by the Ontario government, I foresee a food shortage. This most certainly will be much worse than not having enough masks. What will the premier do when there isn't clean water to drink and food to eat? The first nations teach us to plan for the next SEVEN generations. Bill 23 certainly does not do this.

Finally THERE IS NOT A SHORTAGE OF HOMES. There is/was a false belief of a housing shortage which was driving prices up. The reality is there is no shortage. "Ontario’s housing supply is growing faster than its population" (Better Dwelling, March 24, 2022). There is a shortage of reasonably priced rentals. Why? This is because this current government removed rent control. This has sent the price of rent skyrocketing. Additionally, many of the units which have been built don't belong to Ontarian's. I would ride with realtors turned cab drivers and each one would tell me how the majority of each condo building that was going up would be sold to overseas buyers. How would the government ensure that we are not just developing land to sell to overseas investors? How would the government propose to create "affordable housing" as this bill is claiming to do when all controls have been removed? The premise of this bill is false. Considering the magnitude of the impact Bill 23, the Bill must be based on fact, not fiction. But it is not.

In conclusion, I am certain there is a breech of ethics in regards to Bill 23 and the development of the 413. The premise of Bill 23 is false and as such BILL 23 NEEDS TO BE IMMEDIATELY REPEALED. Ontario needs MORE GREEN SPACE set aside for all Ontarian's to enjoy, conservations authorities to protect against flooding and wetlands to be protected spaces. Ontarian's need this so people who have already bought homes, can continue to know they, and their investments, are safe; we can know we will have clean drinking water; we will have local food to eat; and politicians who are not corrupt. Ontario needs more laws capping contributions to political parties by individuals and corporations to be implemented to help with integrity. Contributions need to be capped at to $2,000 per FAMILY and/or corporation. As such, if a family owns the cooperation then they can donate under the cooperation OR the family, but not both.

Thank you for your time.