As a Master of Environmental…

As a Master of Environmental Science candidate at the University of Toronto, Scarborough, I am particularly concerned about how Bill 66 allows for the following environmental regulations to be bypassed:

Section 39 of the Clean Water Act, 2006.
Section 20 of the Great Lakes Protection Act, 2015.
Section 7 of the Greenbelt Act, 2005.
Section 6 of the Lake Simcoe Protection Act, 2008.
Section 7 of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001.

Allowing for municipalities to bypass these regulations puts not only habitat and biodiversity, but also public health, at risk. As the planet's temperature is set to increase by at least 1.5 degrees Celsius in the coming decades, it is more crucial than ever to protect the naturally-existing infrastructure which supports our clean air, drinking water, food pollinators, and other vital ecosystem services. Much of this infrastructure is contained within the Oak Ridges Moraine and Greenbelt.

Lowering costs for businesses will cost us all in the long run, as municipalities and the province will have to pay for the services once provided to us for free if they are compromised by development. As what happened in the past with the Walkerton tragedy, some people will ultimately pay with their lives, if sources of drinking water are not adequately protected.

In addition to being a student of environmental science, I am also a part-time worker who is equally concerned about Schedule 9 of this bill, particularly:

-Amend the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) to reduce regulatory burden on businesses, including no longer requiring them to obtain approval from the Director of Employment Standards for excess hours of work and overtime averaging.
-Stop requiring employers to post the Employment Standards Act (ESA) poster in the workplace, but retain the requirement that they provide the poster to employees.

This blatantly undermines worker protections, making it very clear that the "people" Doug Ford claims to be for are business owners. Removing the requirement for employers to post the ESA poster in the workplace strikes me as especially ridiculous, and I fail to see how putting up a poster constitutes a "burden" on businesses. Workers have the right to be able to easily refer to this poster at their place of employment.

Bill 66 is an attack on workers, the environment and public health, now and into the future. I strongly urge reconsideration.