I am writing to you to ask…

I am writing to you to ask that you keep your promise to protect the Greenbelt and therefore call back legislature and introduce a new Bill 66 that stops the attacks on the Greenbelt, Oak Ridges Moraine, Lake Simcoe, Source Water Protection Areas and other important protected farm and natural areas to development.

During the election, you promised to protect the Greenbelt and you recently released a “Made in Ontario” Environment Plan which made the same commitment.

Provincial and municipal data show there is enough land already available in our towns and cities for our housing needs up to 2041. There is also a surplus of land for new businesses and we should be encouraging investment in these areas. By building within our existing towns and cities throughout the Greater Golden Horseshoe we can increase the supply of affordable housing and jobs in our existing serviced communities while holding firm on urban boundaries.

Protected farmland supplies local food and enhances food security at a time when prices are rising and supplies from other countries are increasingly threatened. Farming is also economically important and provides jobs to thousands. Sprawl onto farmland destroys farm businesses and farm communities.

Water is critical to human survival. Opening areas that have been protected for the safety of our drinking water to development threatens our long term health and increases flood risks.

Natural areas provide habitat for wildlife, sequester carbon and mitigate climate change, provide recreation and clean our air.

Once gone, farmland and natural areas are gone forever. Please keep your promise and change Bill 66.

I am a citizen of Waterloo Region. In 1989, toxic chemicals were found in the groundwater underneath the Uniroyal Chemical site in Elmira. Experts say it will be decades before Elmira's water is safe to drink again. Bill 66 would allow the Province to override the Region of Waterloo’s Official Plan policies that were established to prevent similar toxic destruction of our drinking water. Limiting sprawl is of particular importance in Waterloo Region, where 75% of drinking water comes from aquifers located just beyond the Countryside Line.

Today, more than half of the Region's growth comes from building in existing urban areas. This investment in our urban centres means we can keep growing while preserving the rural communities and farms that make Waterloo Region unique.

Planning exemptions granted under Bill 66 would not require notification or consultation with residents. These proposed changes fly in the face of good governance.

I reject Bill 66’s implicit suggestion that to grow the economy and add jobs we must accept environmental degradation, pave over farms, and risk the health of our families.