I have reviewed the Act,…

I have reviewed the Act, particularly Schedules 5 and 10. It is to these Schedules, as well as to the whole Act, that I wish to direct my comments.
Schedule 5 deals particularly with the Repealing the Toxics Reduction Act. This is an Act which has been particularly important to this area (Hamilton) because of the heavy industry which we enjoy. While this industry does provide many quality jobs to our area, there have been issues of the release of toxic substances into local environments. I would like to see this act continue, as a means of keeping these substances under control for the benefit of all our citizens.
Schedule 10 is more worrisome yet. It reduces the scope and power of many evironmental acts which have been of great benefit to all of us in this part of Southern Ontario. Specifically, the Greenbelt, along with Niagara Escarpment and other conservation acts, have been essential in the fight to keep our water supplies clean and free of contamination. And they have been helpful in maintaining sufficient agricultural lands that the people of this area might have some degree of self-sufficiency in food. As I read it, the Act loosens to a dangerous degree the regulations we rely on for proper maintenance of this land. It also restricts any appeal which the people have in response to actions taken against the Greenbelt. And, while in this Schedule it is up to the municipality to decide wheter to disrupt the good system now in place, we need provincial backup in maintaining a good and healthy environment. Jobs do not replace clean air or clean water in this respect.
While these are my main concerns, a (admittedly) brief review of the other Schedules suggests that, for me, the best path forward is to entirely rewrite this Act to maintain the safeguards we have in place.