A government for the people…

A government for the people would position the province for the future. This requires continued protection of the greenbelt (remove Schedule 10 from Bill 66!!!!) instead of giving in to developer interests, more protection of the environment, and positioning the economy to meet the business opportunities of the future entailed in the environmental challenges the world faces.

Why start paving over prime farmland that provides jobs, and helps curb carbon emissions, and promotes self sufficiency when people buy local. The greenbelt belt provides habitat for wildlife already under extreme threat due to development and habitat loss. We now have the WWF report noting the 60% decline in the planet’s wildlife over the past fifty years. Let us not add to this. The greenbelt provides nature close at hand for many Ontarians, which studies have shown is essential for mental health, and many recreational opportunities.

The Greenbelt helps prevent flooding and is a carbon store in the fight against climate change.

There is more than enough land available to meet the housing needs of the future, through greater density, etc., without destroying our natural heritage. If climate change has taught us anything it is that we need to find new ways of doing things, not to do more of what we did in the past.

Omnibus bills are cowardly and undemocratic. This government continues to show itself beholden to friends and special interests, lacking in values, and bereft of the vision to meet the challenges of the future.