The proposed 'open for…

The proposed 'open for business' planning tool under the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, which will allow municipalities to pass zoning bylaws that are not required to comply with legislation that is in place to protect our greenbelt, the Oak Ridges moraine, the clean water act, the great lakes protection act, etc, etc. is absolutely abhorrent and short-sighted. We should not, as citizens of Ontario, be sacrificing our natural capital to pad the pockets of developers and industries. We only get one chance - once the green space is gone, and the rivers and lakes polluted it can't be undone.

In addition, the proposal to repeal the Toxics Reduction Act must be a joke. Are we really considering making it easier to pollute so Ontario can be more competitive as a place to do business? This is a trade off that we are willing to make? Why aren't we focusing on making Ontario more competitive to businesses and industry that DON'T pollute? Bring in some incentive programs to draw clean industries into our province - create jobs AND protect the environment! You can have it both ways! This slash-and-burn mentality is going to have long-lasting impacts on our province and they will not be impacts we look back on fondly.