Firstly, an omnibus bill…

Firstly, an omnibus bill such as the "Get It Done Act" simultaneously puts several disparate proposals on the table. Although efficient, it is not wise or fair. It does not give each issue the required attention and debate each deserves in order to reach the best decision. I am inherently against omnibus bills.

Secondly, we all have to eat and we all need an affordable place to live. And there are many in Ontario finding it difficult to put food on the table or pay for suitable housing. And I agree that the provincial government has a significant role to play in both these issues. But I believe it would be a huge mistake to build sprawl housing by paving over farmland. Southern Ontario has prime #1 class farmland for growing our food. It needs to remain intact. We need to increase housing density; build up, not out.

That is why I object to this omnibus bill which puts forced boundary expansion back on the table. Forced boundary expansion will destroy farmland. We must not build housing by destroying farmland. Please take boundary expansions in Halton and Waterloo Regions off the table.