I am in writing in…

I am in writing in opposition to Bill 17. This act impedes municipalities from using regulation to make safer, affordable, smarter communities in favour of ministerial zoning orders.

Steve Clark demonstrated to people, quite recently, that the Ontario government can't be trusted to use MZOs responsibly to represent the people of Ontario, but are more likely to use them to further enrich developers that have backed this government since the premier first promised them, before he was even elected, that he would build on the greenbelt.

Because this government has been more concerned about profits for a hand full of their friends, over housing, our housing starts are actually down in this province. Even setting the potential environmental damage aside, it was foolish and irresponsible to suggest building where there was no existing infrastructure.

For too long, provincial governments, not just Ontario, have turned to the private sector for solutions to our housing problem. Affordable housing will not happen in Canada, unless governments start taking on the responsibility themselves, because there is no money to be made providing affordable housing.

In addition, I have more trust in municipal politicians to make decisions for people in their community than I do in representatives of this government who will never step foot in the communities they are condemning to bad decisions. The premier has demonstrated he is not open to reasonable decisions, as he is in favour of building more sprawl, and huge condo towers, over more sensible options like triplexes.

Finally, people don't vote for municipal councils so that their representatives can be overruled by their provincial government. This government's constant overreach into municipal affairs shows contempt for voters who trust that the democratic process will give them local representation, and frankly, my own town council of Newmarket seems far more responsible than the government of Ontario. I accept their decisions about local development, because they know their community, but also because they aren't under criminal investigation for favouring the very developers the Ontario government plans to give more decision making power to.