The proposed changes within…

The proposed changes within Bill 212 is concerning, specifically legislative changes as it relates to Schedule 2, the Building Highways Faster Act, and prohibiting land owners from applying under the Expropriation Act, adjustments for date of possession, in addition to entry on the property for site assessments.

In addition, the changes to the Highway Traffic Act requiring municipalities to seek approvals prior to the construction of bike lanes in certain instances is appalling, not based in scientific study, and severely limits the future of the region. Bike lanes and other such municipal infrastructure are often already evaluated as part of a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment and go through years of study prior to detailed design. Requiring municipalities to seek ministerial approval adds an additional layer of study and arbitrary approvals prior the installation of crucial infrastructure. I also find this change to be contrary to the strong mayors initiative that seeks to empower municipalities. Is the intent of this administration to empower municipalities to build more and faster or to add additional red tape that entrenched the idea that Ontario is a car dominant place? Finally, as a person who cannot drive for health reasons, having a reliable network of bike lanes across Toronto and Southern Ontario has broadened my exploration of the region. I use my bike daily in Toronto as it is my primary mode of transportation, and wished that I could have this freedom when I was much younger. My younger siblings no longer have to rely on our parents to drive them around. The expansion of the bike lane system has given me, and other similarly abled people, a level of autonomy and mobility I could not have imagined years ago. I look forward to a more inclusive and safer future in Ontario, and resent attempts to bring us backwards, which is exactly the outcome of this amendment.