Re: Bill 66, the Restoring…

Re: Bill 66, the Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018/ EBR Registry number 013-4293

I am opposed to the Ontario government weakening or removing environmental controls in the proposed legislation (Bill 66). Doing so not only threatens the health and well-being of our residents, but puts municipalities in a position of potential litigation over development. Existing controls in the Planning Act and other laws and policies should be strengthened, not weakened.

I would prefer to see the province continue to fully protect Natural Heritage Features and Areas, including the Greenbelt, to protect significant wetlands, significant coastal wetlands, fish habitat, significant woodlands significant valley lands, habitat of endangered and threatened species, significant wildlife habitat, and significant areas of natural and scientific interest. These are irreplaceable and a public trust. If you allow them to be destroyed or developed, if you allow our sensitive environmental areas to be compromised, we can never get them back.

I oppose allowing development on identified “hazard lands” as a matter of public health and safety.

The Great Lakes Protection Act, 2015 (especially Section 20) is necessary to the vitality and environmental quality of our largest source of fresh water. The existing Act should be retained and strengthened. I oppose doing anything to de-regulate, revoke, compromise, bypass or weaken that legislation.

Please retain and strengthen the Toxics Reduction Act, 2009. It should not be not de-regulated, revoked, compromised, bypassed or weakened because doing so will compromise public health and safety.

It is crucial that the province maintain Ontario’s existing drinking water standards to ensure the continued security and safety of our drinking water. The government should instead assure residents that those standards will be upheld in this and future legislation. We do not walk another Walkerton event here.

Please do nothing to weaken, compromise, revoke or bypass the Clean Water Act, 2006 (particularly Section 39) nor allow any drinking water source protection plan prepared under the Clean Water Act to be weakened or bypassed.