Comment
The proposals to roll back environmental protections are astoundingly shortsighted. The Clean Water Act protects the majority of our drinking water sources.
I strongly urge lawmakers to protect the health of your children and grandchildren who, like yourself, will rely on clean, affordable food from the Greenbelt and safe drinking water from Lake Ontario.
To quote the Canadian Environmental Law Association:
If a municipality passes an “open for business planning by-law” under the proposed law, Bill 66 removes the current legal requirement that municipal land use decisions must conform to significant threat policies in source protection plans approved under the Clean Water Act. This exemption opens the door to large-scale industrial development in vulnerable areas that may threaten groundwater or surface water resources.
By any objective standard, laws that protect drinking water, regulate rail safety or control hazardous chemicals are not red tape. Instead, they are essential safety requirements that we expect governments to enact, enforce and maintain in order to protect the public interest. This is not just an issue that affects Walkerton citizens, as Mr. Justice O’Connor found that the conditions leading to that public health disaster were rampant across Ontario.
Submitted January 19, 2019 11:51 AM
Comment on
Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018
ERO number
013-4293
Comment ID
19838
Commenting on behalf of
Comment status