I have deep concerns about…

I have deep concerns about Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018. Bill 66 overrides essential components of provincial laws and policies that protect our water, farmland, natural heritage and public health. Not only does Bill 66 remove these protections, it allows the passing of an open-for-business bylaw without public notification, public consultation or the right to appeal.

There is no evidence supporting a land shortage in Ontario. Provincial and municipal data show there is enough land to meet housing needs in our cities and towns until 2041. Employment land is also widely available. In fact, Simcoe County alone has 2919 ha of vacant employment land. Many other communities also identified surplus employment lands at the Growth Plan Implementation Consultation held at Queen’s Park on Nov 8, 2018.

Allowing development within currently protected areas not only creates urban sprawl, it necessitates the expansion of infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer services. This will increase property taxes for people living in impacted communities and raises concerns about clean drinking water, the loss of farm land, further degradation of Lake Simcoe and worsening climate change.

The Clean Water Act was created as a direct result of the Walkerton water contamination crisis which caused the death of seven Ontarians. The Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan was created to prevent contamination of groundwater supplies for 250,000 residents and hundreds of farms.

Section 39 of the Clean Water Act is one of the provisions listed in Schedule 10 of Bill 66. Schedule 10 proposes to exclude Section 39 and subsections (1) to (8) from applying to developments approved under an open-for-business bylaw. As it is currently written, Bill 66 would allow the approval of employment development which could threaten safe drinking water for multiple communities. For example, a factory that produces toxic effluent could be constructed inside a wellhead protection zone. Bill 66 lays the groundwork for another Walkerton.

Only 5% of the land base in Ontario is available for farming. Each day, 175 acres of farmland is lost. 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 economically important and provides jobs to thousands of Ontarians. Bill 66 also increases the speculative real estate value of farmland making it more difficult for farmers to purchase and preserve the farmland essential to feeding Ontario residents. Sprawl onto farmland destroys farm businesses and farm communities.

Lake Simcoe is an essential part of Ontario’s natural and ecological heritage, supporting tourism and recreational fishing, as well as being a source of drinking water for local communities. Lake Simcoe has suffered from excessive phosphorous pollution from storm water runoff in urban areas, sewage and septic systems, and exposed soil and nutrients on farms and new developments. Phosphorous levels in the lake have decreased, but much work remains to be done. Bill 66 must not be allowed to erode the gains made by the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan and its associated policies.

By allowing development in previously protected areas, Bill 66 also conflicts with the Province’s proposed Made in Ontario Environmental Plan. Protected areas are crucial in combating climate change. The Greenbelt absorbs carbon and keeps an estimated 172 million tons of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere (1). Protected areas also help prevent flooding, forest fires and the other impacts associated with the extreme weather events caused by climate change. Passing Bill 66 directly contradicts Ontario’s Environment Plan and our province’s commitment to fight climate change.

I believe it is critically important to delete Schedule 10 from Bill 66 and respectfully request you work to remove this section of the newly proposed Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018.

(1):
http://www.greenbelt.ca/ontario_s_secret_climate_change_weapon_the_gree…