I vehemently object to…

I vehemently object to Ontario Government’s Bill 197 which is the fourth omnibus bill since the Conservatives took power, a shameful legacy in itself. Bill 197 decimates preexisting environmental protections and undermines public participation in public projects.

Bill 197 makes substantial amendments to the Environmental Assessment Act (EAA) and has effectually made it so that environmental assessments are not automatically required for industrial and development projects. (This is an especially sore point as I am part of a group of concerned citizens who has made repeated requests to see the results of an environmental assessment related to a current development project slated for Pickering wetlands and our City Council refuses to either post or send this documentation.)

Both the Auditor General and Environmental Commissioner made recommendations in past reports for greater transparency and public inclusion with respect to contentious public projects. Not only did this government fail to implement those recommendations but orchestrated Bill 197 which indeed has quite the opposite effect. The Planning Act not only hampers public input but also bypasses checks and balances altogether through the escalating use of Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZO’s).

These MZO’s enable development projects to proceed at a Minister’s sole discretion without public consultation or the right to appeal. This is especially shameful and dishonouring of our First Nations’ Treaty rights which have been completely ignored with respect to the Lower Duffins Creek wetlands development project in Pickering.

In addition, most of the substantial changes to the EAA will be implemented through regulation, not through legislation and have not been shared with the public. This is a clear, further erosion of democratic principles and a reminder of what happens when governments overstep democratic boundaries and move towards autocracy.