I would like to express my…

I would like to express my opposition to the weakening of environmental and development regulations contained in Bill 66.

Land supports human life in a number of fundamental ways – it provides places for us to live and food for us to eat, filters the air we breathe and the water we drink, and is at the heart of almost all our activities, both economic and recreational. Good planning has long been essential in balancing the ways that we use land, so that our communities can grow intelligently and we can all benefit from a system that works to provide what we need for the long term.

Bill 66 threatens to veto much of the excellent planning that has been done in Ontario in the last several decades. This planning is designed to guarantee a future where the people of Ontario can continue to drink safe water and breathe clean air, eat our incredible Ontario produce and enjoy successful careers in agriculture, and live somewhere where they have access to both a good job and a place to spend some time in nature.

By allowing municipalities to bypass plans such as the Greenbelt Act, the Oak Ridges Moraine Act, and the Clean Water Act, the current government is proposing to place the immediate desires of developers above the long-term good of the people of Ontario. Existing planning and legislation provides plenty of land for development, both residential and economic. To provide jobs and homes for the citizens of Ontario, there is absolutely no need to open up lands that have been protected for their agricultural and environmental benefit to Ontarians.

When Doug Ford stated during his campaign that he would open up the Greenbelt for development, there was immense public outcry, causing him to walk back his remarks and commit to maintaining the integrity of the Greenbelt. Clearly, the public does not want these lands to be developed. The current government, therefore, is clearly not working in the interest of the average Ontarian as they now go ahead with dismantling Greenbelt protections. Whose interest are they working in?

It is the role of the government to ensure that the people of Ontario are able to live in a safe environment. Bill 66 threatens to make our drinking water less safe, increase the ability of industry to dump toxic chemicals into our environment, reduce protections for the health of our lakes, and limit our access to healthy, local food. It threatens longstanding careers in agriculture, beloved natural areas, and quality of life for millions of people. It does not serve the interests of the people of this province, and should not be passed into law.