I am deeply concerned and…

I am deeply concerned and opposed to Bill 23. The proposed changes to the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System are short sighted and irresponsible. As the climate crisis worsens we need to create stronger protections for Ontario wetlands rather than eroding them. As close to three-quarters of Southern Ontario's wetlands have already been replaced by agriculture and urban encroachment we need to work harder to protect the swamps and bogs that remain. Wetlands are important natural tools that capture carbon and combat climate change.(1) All we have to do is protect them.

It is true that we have a housing crisis in Ontario but new housing needs to be built where existing infrastructure exists, increasing density and protecting against sprawl. Bill 23 would commit Ontario to decades more low-density sprawl, which is ultimately less affordable, more ecologically damaging, and less economically viable. Once you build on precious carbon-capturing wetlands and valuable farmland, you can't go back. The Greenbelt was made to ensure that these lands would be protected from development. It is incredibly upsetting that Bill 23 now seeks to destroy them. 

This proposed legislation is irredeemable, and I urge the committee to do all it can to scrap it and start over.