Regarding EBR Registry #’s:…

Regarding EBR Registry #’s: 013-4239 and 013-4125.

The following are my reasons for opposing the “Open for Business Planning Tool”:

1. Responsibility for water sources and food supplies are provincial matters and cannot be downloaded to municipalities. This is inconsistent with the fundamental structure of our country and province. Downloading these responsibilities handcuffs our political system's ability to plan for the future and endangers our ability to coordinate threat responses to water and food, which are essential to our survival as a province.

2. Allowing municipalities to put themselves first, ahead of general public responsibilities will allow potential massive abuse of the political system, protective legislation, sensitive environments and wildlife. Municipalities are currently under significant financial shortfalls based on growth requirements and lack of infrastructure funding. They are searching for alternatives which this proposed legislation will permit, but leaving the methods up to self-interests.

3. The proposed legislation will permit corruption of critical water supplies that are already under stress. The Holland Marsh is operating at capacity with little resiliency to climate pressures. Even subtle changes in the local water tables can case drastic unforeseen effects. Taking the ability to safeguard this and other Greenbelt and Oak Ridges Moraine ares by encouraging for development of these lands puts our food sources and water supply at risk.

4. Lastly, the specious arguments that we need affordable housing in rural settings is fundamentally ridiculous. This will require high-density development in areas that are not services by transit and will cause further hardship for Ontario residents who are already in precarious financial positions. Affordable housing should be in urban settings where large quantity of jobs are located. The threshold of the proposed legislation is at least one order of magnitude too low to be statistically reasonable as a matter of policy and lack credibility by any standard.

5. There are large tracts of land that can be used for development that do not encroach on protected lands. Redevelopment of decaying urban facilities is far more cost effective when all infrastructure is factored in than lands that are long-distance commutes to quantity jobs.

6. As my own business grows, I have been struck by the terms that potential employees have conveyed that they will only work for a company that has an immaculate reputation for environmental stewardship. My obligation, as an employer, is to ensure that my employees operate at the highest efficiency, which means that I must maintain this reputation. Supporting this proposed legislation goes against this requirement.

7. Finally, Mr. Ford made a commitment during his campaign that the Greenbelt and Oak Ridges Moraine would not be opened up to development.

As a result, I am vehemently opposed to this legislation and urge its withdrawal before it moves beyond the proposal stage.