I strongly oppose Bill 212…

I strongly oppose Bill 212. Passing this legislation will (a)not alleviate traffic congestion, (b)will lead to more injuries and deaths, (c)encroaches on the autonomy of municipalities, and (d)leads to more bloated and less effective governance.

In order for Ontario's cities and municipalities to grow and thrive, local governments must be able to properly plan for appropriate transportation infrastructure and make decisions that best serve their local economies and the health of their citizens. Decisions about adding active transportation infrastructure must remain in the hands of officials responsible to local constituents and the transportation experts working for the municipalities. It is neither within the province's jurisdiction nor its mandate to get bogged down in local decision-making — there are much more critical, province-wide issues that Ontario must address instead.

Any move to make it more burdensome to build walking and cycling infrastructure within municipalities will result in greater expense and worse health outcomes — and will only make gridlock worse, not better.

The installation of protected bike infrastructure in my municipality has made it easier, safer, and more joyful for me to move around. I fear that blocking new infrastructure (or even worse, removing existing infrastructure) will pose a direct threat to my health and safety.

This proposed legislation is not responsible and it is certainly not conservative by any definition of the word. I will be urging my local representatives and my MPPs to vote against this bill. I will also be personally asking my family members who live elsewhere in rural Ontario — family members who are very concerned about my own health and safety — to pressure their own MPPs to vote against this bill as well.

The conservative and responsible position is to allow municipalities to add in active transportation infrastructure as they deem fit — and to see the improvements in local economies and public health that immediately follow.