As it currently stands, Bill…

As it currently stands, Bill 23 will decimate environmental protection for wetlands, woodlands and other sensitive green spaces, and it will prohibit conservation authorities from protecting these spaces. It will also undermine several municipalities’ net-zero and green development standards — all while we are in a climate crisis.

We must maintain green development standards, which are crucial for lowering emissions from buildings (one of the top two sources of emissions), and allow conservation authorities to continue to conduct crucial environmental assessments, to protect our environmentally significant spaces and the wildlife that depends on them.

The Ontario government claims the bill will expedite construction of 1.5 million new homes in less than a decade. In reality, it will drive low-density, sprawling development. It will weaken municipalities’ ability to provide essential services, and it will not address affordability. The bill does not benefit renters or families trying to navigate the housing crisis. We need affordable, climate-friendly communities, not more sprawl.

I am deeply concerned that the Ontario government is failing to protect nature, communities and the climate.