I am very disturbed by Bill…

I am very disturbed by Bill 66 as currently proposed. During the election the stated Conservative platform was to "protect the Greenbelt in its entirety". There is no room for this legislation in that statement. But aside from this reversal of party policy post-election there are other reasons why I think this is a concerning precedent.
1) The legislation allows town councils and the minister to make decisions without reference to decades of carefully conceived acts like The Greenbelt Plan, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and the Clean Water Act. This effectively neuters this body of legislation which has been developed with great public input without demonstrating the need for this legislation and that these developments could not go elsewhere.
2) There is no requirement that the Minister seek expert opinion on the impacts of any development on the environment let alone seek public input in advance of approving any development. And there is no process of appeal once the decision is made. Without an opportunity for the public to comment and for the Minister to explain the logic behind any development it may appear that any decision is the product of patronage or private influence. I am concerned that this is an example of how this government wants to govern without allowing opportunities for any comments or restraints on its arbitrary power.
3) There was a reason why these lands and water were protected in the first place. I still believe that we should not be developing all land close to Toronto. We need the Greenbelt for farming, water recharge and health and recreation. Ontario can be "open for business" on the considerable land it has already set aside for development.
4) Every municipality has been mandated to have an Official Plan. This planning is part of a cohesive effort to develop the Golden Horseshoe in a cohesive, organized manor while taking into account the needs of lands that clean our air, filter our drinking water and grow our food. This act throws a wrench into that systematic planning and makes development a random event.
5) The "certain prescribed criteria" that need to be met are vague and non specific. Without a clearly described set of criteria it hard to know how any application would be approved or any application would be rejected.