The changes proposed to the…

The changes proposed to the Heritage Act and Endangered Species Act are totally unacceptable. Apart from our ethical obligations to protect other life-forms, Ontarians do not want to live in a lifeless desert devoid of biodiversity, nor in a cancerous sprawl of tract housing which obliterates everything in the landscape of natural or heritage value.

There is a need for a greater supply of housing units, mainly affordable housing units. As recent articles in the Globe and elsewhere have shown, the answer to this is NOT to build more houses and condos. Many condos are empty. A punitive tax on empty properties would soon convince landlords to let. The purpose of condominiums has been distorted. Most owners are not occupiers but investors who let their condos, thus inflating prices by adding another level of profiteering. This is capable of swift solutions by legislation that requires condo purchasers to be occupiers. Also, other jurisdictions, like Amsterdam and Vienna, have significantly increased the supply of affordable housing by requiring that all new projects include a set proportion (20% is appropriate) of affordable rental and purchasable units. Such legislation is easy to enact. Fundamentally what is needed is a paradigm shift that replaces the present profit-driven private investment based development industry by a service-orientated, not-for profit agency or government based development industry. We cannot afford the profiteering of the private development industry.

In sum, if you government destroys Ontario's greenspaces and natural biodiversity, and our historical heritage of built beauty, you will committing an atrocity for which you can, and will, never be forgiven.