Bill 66 would remove vital…

Bill 66 would remove vital protections of our environment and the health of Ontario residents. It is a reckless attempt to please certain politically influential business interests, and is not in the best interests of Ontario citizens.

If Bill 66 is passed, industry will be able to bypass drinking water source protections under the Clean Water Act. This change would weaken critical protections passed in response to the Walkerton tragedy, in which contaminated drinking water killed seven people and made thousands of people ill.

Bill 66 also proposes to exempt municipal “open-for-business” planning bylaws from land-use planning and environmental protection requirements under several other acts, including the Planning Act, the Greenbelt Act, the Great Lakes Protection Act, and the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, allowing industry to ignore important protections to our natural spaces like the Greenbelt – despite the promise made by Premier Ford during the provincial election campaign not to remove protections for the Greenbelt.

Bill 66 also proposes to repeal the Toxics Reduction Act, 2009. This change would undermine transparency and accountability by eliminating industry obligations to report publicly on their uses of toxic substances and to identify options to reduce those substances through toxic reduction plans.