This bill is not in the best…

This bill is not in the best interest of Ontarians. It puts our drinking water, green space and overall health and well being at risk.

I remember the Walkerton travesty well. I have been working with environmental scientists and public servants who care for our parks and environment and have heard concern about the overall direction related to this bill.

The proposed Bill 66 will allow municipalities to completely disregard Ontario's provincial legislation that protects drinking water safety and air quality, the Greenbelt and farmland in the province, any time a development plan promises to create 50 or more jobs (even temporary construction jobs).

Equally concerning is that Bill 66 will allow municipalities to approve such development plans without any public consultation.

The bill sweeps away decades of public effort and government legislation to ensure that Ontario continues to have clean and safe water, air and land and home-grown food for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren.

"Open for Business" should not be at a cost to people. this bill is short sighted and ill advised. We cannot recover our drinking water and green space once it has been destroyed for the benefit of wealthy developers and polluting industry for a few paltry jobs (and time limited jobs) and short term profit. We need to focus on affordable housing, reducing the carbon foot print by enabling food to be grown locally and green space that science has shown improves overall health and well being of the individuals accessing it and the communities surrounding it.

The government has already taken many steps that put our environment at risk, makes the poor even poorer (cancellation of basic income) and makes me despair for the future of our province. I encourage the government to develop a longer term vision that makes Ontario a safe and healthy place to live and grow...and make decisions for the long term benefit of the bulk of Ontarians rather than short term profit of a few.