I write to express my strong…

I write to express my strong disagreement with many of the Ontario governments proposals as detailed in Bill 23, Bill 97 and PPS.

I am opposed to:
- rural severances that would allow prime farmland to be cut into thirds and sold off for building estates.
- giving up parts of the Greenbelt for development, forcing urban boundary expansion when Regional governments have submitted researched, workable housing solutions within the urban boundaries in their Regional Official Plans.
- reduction of developer's fees and offloading these costs to communities

Your plans will:
- threaten our forests and wetlands that purify water and provide natural habitats for so many species.
- force increased dependency on vehicles for transportation to employment, goods and services,
- increase municipal taxes. Municipalities may cut corners due to high costs of installing important health and safety features in neighbourhoods i.e. sidewalks, parks, green space, infrastructure etc.

We recently became hosts to a Ukrainian family. They are very concerned about their future – will they ever be able to afford a home. In the city of Dnipro where they lived, there was no need to have a car as all goods, services and employment were accessible through public transit.

I believe the Ontario Governments plan has not considered newcomers, or those living on middle to lower incomes in their plan for a liveable future in Ontario. If you truly are listening to the voices of the people of Ontario, heeding the advice of those who developed our comprehensive regional official plans, heeding the advice of scientific, climate experts and Indigenous peoples; your government would be building within the current urban boundaries where you have been told time and time again “There is enough land”.

Your plan is short sighted, and only keeps developers and the wealthy happy. Do the rich really need more? Let’s start leveling the playing field. It's time to build a liveable future for ALL in Ontario.