These regulations seem to be…

These regulations seem to be based on the premise that it is necessary to build near or encroach upon wetlands as currently defined and other environmentally sensitive areas and protected areas in order to provide housing. This is simply not the case. There is ample capacity within existing urban boundaries to provide appropriate, affordable and attainable housing as documented in the Report of the Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force.

These regulations fail to recognize negative impact on climate change and air quality as "natural hazards". Any regulation that narrows the definition of provincially significant wetlands risks reducing the value of those wetlands for sequestering carbon and mitigating the negative impacts of increasing dry spells and wet spells.

Promoting development in undeveloped, currently protected areas promotes urban sprawl -- a recipe for more emissions-creating commuting.

The proposed regulations and Bill 23 itself in no way guarantee that appropriate, affordable, attainable housing will be built or that developers will pass on any savings they may realize to new home buyers or tenants. Meanwhile, the cost of commuting and the increase in property taxes to support new infrastructure in undeveloped rural areas will increase the ongoing costs of living there both for the current residents and the new home buyers.

I am also concerned that the proposed changes will have unintended consequences in Muskoka where I live. No one is going to build affordable, attainable housing on Muskoka's lake shores, yet the regulations will reduce the ability of the area municipalities and the district municipality to protect our lakes and rivers through site plan regulations as documented by the Muskoka Watershed Council https://www.muskokawatershed.org/blog/bill-23/.