I am writing to tell you to…

I am writing to tell you to withdraw "Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018"

I grew up Woolwich Township, and went to high school in Elmira, and I moved back to the area to raise my child. As a child I spent time visiting family from the Walkerton area. Both these towns have a lot going for them, but the terrible water issues they've suffered have left deep scars.

Human beings will not be able to drink the water in our town in my lifetime, and likely not even in my grandchildren's lifetime. The laws protecting the health of our people and out environment are better than they were, but I expect they could be improved. Going the other way is simply not an option. I invite anyone who thinks otherwise to drop by my town and drink the water under our feet rather than the tap water we pipe in from Waterloo.

I agree with our town councillor who expressed anger at the provincial government's implication that Woolwich Township isn't "open for business." And another who said we don't need or want businesses that can't operate within existing laws that protect our water, natural heritage, farmland and human health and well-being.

Urban sprawl is expensive, and I'm lucky to live in a place that has worked hard to responsibly manage growth through regional and municipal planning based on evidence and citizen consultation.

Parcels of land, factories, farms, cities, towns and hamlets aren't islands; they share the environment that supports us all. Our current regional planning procedures ensure that the use we make of our lands don't harm our neighbours. We all need a healthy environment.

Kitchener-Conestoga is a predominantly rural riding. Pesticides are killing off our bee population: we need stronger environmental law. The farms that surround the settlement areas and knit Waterloo Region together are important if we want to eat.

But the safety of our water and our land is only part of the problem with Bill 66. Omnibus Bills are never a good thing. Democracy doesn't serve the public if laws are rushed through willy nilly without making use of the democratic procedures that subject them to scrutiny, so they are properly formed.

I have not had the time to read through the 22 other laws Bill 66 will change, but it is inconceivable that your government would strip away what feeble protections we have in the Wireless Services Agreements Act 2013. If there are any good parts in Bill 66, they can be pulled out and introduced as standalone laws.

As bad as everything I do know about Bill 66 is, the worst to me is your government's attempt to strip public consultation out of the process. That was one of the things your predecessors got very wrong. My friend has been trying to set up an appointment with our MPP without success. This is still a democracy, isn't it?

In case there is any doubt, I am writing this to tell you to withdraw Bill 66.