I support the government’s…

I support the government’s goal to cut unnecessary spending and encourage business in our province. I do not support all the ways that you have planned to achieve these goals.

I am disappointed that the details of Bill 66, with the goal of encouraging development and business to Ontario, is coming at the expense of Ontario’s environment. I do not support the details of this bill, which allow municipalities to override protections established in the Clean Water Act, Greenbelt and Oak Ridges Moraine Act, the Lakes Simcoe Protection Act, or the Places to Grow Act.

California and British Columbia, whose farmland we rely on to feed us, had extensive wildfires last year, with the possibility of more in the coming decades, due to climate change. We currently have an unstable relationship with China, a country that supplies us with many food items. These are just a few examples of locations Ontario has become very reliant on to feed our population. I believe it is very short sighted to rezone agricultural land in Ontario for development and expect that there will be food grown elsewhere available for us. Farmland is a non-renewable resource that should be preserved to ensure we can feed our own people, regardless of geopolitical or environmental conditions, now and in the future. In the future, other countries may not care, or be in a position, to help us if we can’t be self sufficient and raise our own food.

There are enough locations within urban centres in the GTA for ongoing residential and commercial development. Developing raw land is not something needed, it is simply what a few developers want. It is short sighted to develop the Greenbelt, Oak Ridges Moraines, Lake Simcoe Watershed, and other last remaining natural pockets of land in Ontario. These are non-renewable resources. Once the trees are felled, the topsoil is scraped off and the structures are built, they will be gone forever. What impact will there be to the watershed, which is important to the Great Lakes hydrologic system? These lands should be protected for ourselves and for future generations.

I don’t know how it is legal to allow municipalities to approve development without Public Notice or the possibility of appealing decisions. How is the government protecting people’s rights if they remove the democratic ability to question dramatic changes to the landscape they live in?

I am asking that the government apply much needed fiscal responsibility in the running of the province. Pay down our debt, reduce wasteful spending, encourage business, but don’t sell out the environment with the harmful aspects of Bill 66.