Bill 66 constitutes an…

Bill 66 constitutes an affront to both the environmental conservation and democratic processes of Ontario. The creation of “open-for-business” by-laws will allow for the circumvention of established environmental regulations by municipalities wanting to attract commercial activity. This is problematic, as businesses that would be enticed by minimal environmental regulations are businesses that would most likely:

1. Threaten drinking water through the overriding of policies in already approved water source protection plans, which are created to protect the drinking water of Ontarians from the toxicity of landfills and sewage systems

2. Threaten the conservation of wetlands, forestry, and other habitats for at-risk species through circumvention of the protections in the Provincial Policy Statement under the Planning Act

3. Threaten farmland through the circumvention of agricultural protections as laid out in the Provincial Policy Statement, leading to further urban sprawl

4. Threaten conservation areas and farmland within the Greenbelt through the municipality-sanctioned circumvention of protections

Not only would the implementation of “open-for-business” by-laws endanger public safety and environmental conservation, but there would be no way for citizens to appeal the implementation of said by-laws, as such laws would be unappealable through the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.

I urge the Ontario government to rescind their Bill 66 proposal, lest they cause undue harm to the citizens and lands of the Province they are tasked with representing.