Though I am very comfortable…

Though I am very comfortable looking closely at our government processes to remove excess regulation and to cut regulation that does accomplishing anything meaningful, after reading the article and watching the news, I am very concerned that this Bill has a very different intent.

I am very concerned that we are giving municipalities permission to avoid scrutiny and consultation around planning decisions with respect to clean water and the government’s planned use of the water and land of the Oak Ridges Moraine. I do not believe that any number of new jobs or private profit are worth jeopardizing the safety of our drinking water and pollution free land. I likewise am concerned that laws specifically created to protect our lake water, our groundwater, our watersheds, our farmland and our pollution free lands are being thrown asunder so that we can create more jobs and increase the profits of manufacturing companies. Though there must always be balance in the creation of policy, creating a law that simply allows municipalities and by extension, companies, to ignore Clean Water Act, the Great Lakes Protection Act, the Lake Simcoe Protection Act, the Toxic Reductions Act and the Greenbelt Act seems a complete abandonment of our stewardship of these resources.

I believe that government policies should be sensible, non-ideological and look to minimize the burden of needless regulation. Bill 66 does not appear to fulfil in this mandate. I am very concerned that many aspects of this Bill are blunt, ham-fisted and were created with ideological and reckless intent. I expect more from my government.