As an entrepreneur and…

As an entrepreneur and successful small-business owner in Kitchener, I would have hoped that I would be happy with a bill entitled "Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness"; however, this bill does little to support businesses and instead takes a huge bite into environmental protections that support the creation of businesses and the well-being of Ontarians. Bill 66 opens the door for municipalities to be granted permission to clear-cut forests while bypassing significant chunks of legislation: major water-protection acts (the Clean Water Act, Great Lakes Protection Act, and Lake Simcoe Proctection Plan Act) and recent solid-waste-management law (2016’s Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act). In order for businesses to prosper in the long term, we require a strong natural environment and a government that understands this. The economy and the environment are linked. Bill 66 is a travesty as it equates cutting red tape with cutting the environment. Please reverse your detrimental policy as mayors and city counsels along southwestern Ontario are already commenting that they will do all within their power to reverse this legislation if passed. Please stop trying to create problems with nature - Ontarians need nature, nature doesn't need us.