I appreciate you taking the…

I appreciate you taking the time to read this. I have lived in Ontario my whole life and seeing it thrive economically is more important than ever. The economy is & will likely continue to be under the strain of the tariff war and the need for affordable housing increases daily thus the need for a streamlined but comprehensive system for protecting the environment and human health is crucial.

Unfortunately, I have several significant concerns with this Act's ability to protect Ontarians and Ontario's economy.

In particular, this government has previously gone back on the promise of 'not touching the Greenbelt' twice, something Ontarians were very clear about not wanting. This makes it hard to trust this or any future government to make reasonable decisions about who is a "reliable proponent" or "trusted proponent" and who is not. As well as leaves me concerned with how this or any future governments will select what may be considered a "vetted project". Especially given that this Act appears to remove important opportunities for engagement with the public. Public and Indigenous consultation are crucial steps in determining the viability of a project and should not be removed or reduced.

The act is vague and leaves too much room for overreach. Ontario has a widely diverse landscape, the people, the environment and the locals economies vary across the province. Municipalities and conservation authorities are able to provide a necessary localized approach. It would be important for me to see them continue to be active participants in the environmental oversight of development, infrastructure, housing etc.

I agree that the current system could and should be improved but many of the issues are often due to things like understaffing, lack of modernization, poor education, poor communication or lack of resources and not to the requirements being unnecessary.

Please reconsider the implementation of this Act and I hope to see an updated, clearer, more comprehensive and more knowledgeable update of this Special Economic Zones Act soon.

Thank you for your time.