I ask that the Provincial…

I ask that the Provincial Government remove Schedule 10 from Bill 66, which allows municipalities to override provisions in the Greenbelt Act, Clean Water Act, Lake Simcoe Act, Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act and Great Lakes Protection Act. These Acts are extremely important and vital to preserving our natural heritage, farmland and water sources. There is no need to build on the areas these Acts protect. There is enough land already designated for industrial, retail and residential purposes.

In north Simcoe County we are seeing an increase in housing developments as retired people move up from the GTA. In order to preserve our forests, farmland and water sources, we must make sure protected areas are not built on, in any circumstances. They are too important to ignore because some people want to see growth no matter what.

Schedule 10 of Bill 66 would turn back the clock on many years of good planning, community input and strong leadership from governments of all political stripes. Open-for-business by-laws would sidestep laws and policies intended to protect the long-term health and resilience of our communities and would facilitate sprawling and unchecked development, threatening sensitive natural features and water resources upon which we all rely. Bill 66 would undermine everything we have learned – sometimes under tragic circumstances – about how to protect our environment and the health of our communities. Ontarians do not want another disaster like Walkerton, when over 2,000 people fell ill and seven died as a result of a failure to safeguard the local water system. Environmental deregulation, budget cuts and staffing reductions were all identified as major contributing factors in that tragedy.

I urge the government to avoid similar mistakes and to remove Schedule 10 from Bill 66.