I object to the 'Protect…

I object to the 'Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act 2025' because Ontario is changing our environmental protection policies to enable an international company to have a 95 year lease on public land, and the company does not have a proven track record or liquidity to build a profitable spa.

Therme misrepresented their spa experience, conflating their name with another Therme, and the New York Times article proved that they lied about their business experience and liquidity when this contract was signed. As this article is public, there is no excuse to continue honouring this business contract. I have attached the link to this article as proof that this information was internationally exposed and is known by the present provincial government.

New York Times quote:

"In the Therme deal, in which the company is leasing an artificial island in Lake Ontario, Mr. Ford’s government took several unusual steps that reduced oversight. The entire island’s development was exempted from key environmental checks and was classified as a real-estate transaction, allowing the government to avoid more rigorous reviews and standards typical in public contracting."

By passing this 'Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act 2025' , we will be legally subsidizing an international company to take land, water, and resources from Ontario, as well as destroying the heritage site of Ontario Place.

In addition, Lake Ontario is our drinking water and is under threat by the US. As AI use becomes more prevalent to cool server farms, and drought conditions in the US worsen, Ontario will be under pressure for water pipelines from our Great Lakes to the US. Therme's spa will use a tremendous amount of water and energy, subsidized by Ontario residents, as part of our personal taxes to allow an international company to undercut our access to our own water. Water is the most valuable resource we have for farmland and drinking as our population doubles in the GTA over the next twenty years.

By tearing down over 1500 trees on the West Island, this project has disrupted wildlife habitation, increased soil erosion, and destroyed a micro climate. Its area should be revitalized and re-wilded for future generations as public parkland, instead of allowing Therme's contract to continue. It can be re-wilded and built again as a re-designed public park, with full public consultation.

I also support an investigation into this contract with Therme and the Ontario Government for the lack of due diligence in relation to the background and expertise of Therme and as how public park land and a historic site were given away for free, and more than that, for a 95 year taxpayer subsidy of an international commercial enterprise. There will be no taxes coming back into Toronto for the externalized use of our water and energy by the spa, so are additional subsidies.

Therme's contract, for corporate misrepresentation alone, should allow the contract to be ended without future penalty to the Ontario Government, as misrepresentation enables 'a kill clause'.

This is the third case of the Ontario Government, under Premier Ford, selling off public land without rights or public consultation to commercial developers, including the Ontario Science Centre and the Greenbelt. Premier Ford wants to continue by expropriating farmland along Highway 413 as eminent domain to build an unnecessary highway when the underutilized 407 already exists, and can be used instead.

Why should this, or any other environmental protection bill, be enabled to allow these sales to continue? How many of these bills are we going to support in Ontario as we lose access to our healthy future and access to water, farmland, and parkland and our population doubles in the next decade?