I am writing to comment…

I am writing to comment specifically on this element of the proposal:

"Highway projects less than 75 km would be subject to the streamlined EA process set out in the Class EA for Provincial Transportation Facilities (MTO Class EA) which is proposed to be amended to apply to those projects."

I think this is an atrocious proposal and under no circumstances should it become law. Series-400-style highways are incredibly environmentally destructive. The damage that they potentially cause includes:
-breaking up natural migration corridors
-destroying farmland, forest, watercourses, wetlands, and the habitat of species at risk
-support unsustainable sprawl development
-expose natural ecosystems and residents to noise, light, and other forms of pollution
-salinify rivers, ponds, streams, and lakes to the point where they are ecologically "dead"

Once built, these infrastructure projects attract development and become self-fulfilling prophecies. They are practically impossible to unmake afterwards and we will be saddled with them and all their toxic consequences for generations.

We owe it to ourselves, our fellow citizens, our children, and generations yet unborn to expose all such projects, irrespective of length, to the highest level of scrutiny before they are granted approval. I am extremely troubled by this transparent effort to reduce existing environmental protections.