I am opposed to the forced…

I am opposed to the forced boundary expansions to the Official Plans of Waterloo Region causing the unnecessary destruction of thousands of acres of irreplaceable farmland along with other modifications in Halton, Guelph, Wellington County, and elsewhere. In particular, I urge the removal Schedule 1 and Schedule 5 of Bill 162 which pertain to environmental protection and land-use planning matters in Ontario and undermine provincial action on climate change.

I submit for your consideration the following:

Please remove Schedule 1 of Bill 162 which proposes to amend the Environmental Assessment Act in such as way that, if adopted, will mean that expropriation can be undertaken before an environmental assessment is completed. This creates a risk that lands may be unnecessarily expropriated, will undermine public perception about the legitimacy of the expropriation process, and disregards the urgency and importance of the climate and biodiversity crises that we are living through.

Please remove Schedule 5 of Bill 162 which proposed to restrict any future provincial carbon pricing programs by requiring the government first hold a referendum before implementing a new carbon pricing program. This creates unnecessary obstacles to future carbon pricing programs which is fundamentally at odds with the expert recommendations outlined in the Ontario Provincial Climate Change Impact Assessment: Technical Report: January 2023.