I am a Canadian citizen and…

I am a Canadian citizen and Ontario resident living in Cornwall. I am writing you to ask you to rethink Bill 212.

The proposals designed to accelerate the construction of Highway 413 by forcibly removing homeowners from their property and sidestepping environmental regulations will hurt Ontarians communities and threatens sensitive Greenbelt land that are vital for protecting our air, water, and wildlife. I work in environmental administration and I can tell you that any mistakes made now will be VERY expensive to fix later down the line. Don’t rush this highway. Slow down and take the time to do it right. I think you’re also going to lose a lot of support next election when you start ripping folks out of their homes without any recourse.

I am also strongly opposed to the new bike lane legislation. Like you and many others I want to get around more quickly and easily. I’m happy to use my bike, walk, transit or drive when it’s easier. Having choices is important, and if you want to reduce traffic you need to give EVERYONE a choice how to get around. Taking away bike lanes is not going to help, it’s a big step backwards. Science has shown time and time again that giving people safe and convenient alternatives to driving REDUCES traffic, and that adding more roads INCREASES congestion and pollution by forcing more people into cars. Plus, anybody that keeps cycling down those main roads are now going to be doing so in the middle of the traffic lane, which is not only dangerous but is also going to slow down traffic more. The whole plan is backwards, it’s completely misguided, disrespectful to people’s freedom of choice and is going to waste a ton of money. If we want to reduce gridlock, we need smart and forward thinking solutions to get more people out of cars. That means public transit and bike lanes.

If you want to reduce congestion there are better ways to do it. The science is clear on this. Please reconsider this bill. Ontario needs infrastructure that is forward thinking and competitive on the world stage, not more lanes. Bill 212 will not save us any time or money, it will be a costly misstep.