I am shocked but not…

I am shocked but not particularly surprised to see that after Schedule 10 was removed from Bill 66, there is yet another attempt to enter by the back door to accomplish what couldn't be done in view of the negative response to the initial plan.

We are blessed with some good farmland in Ontario. With climate change, and growing populations, this farmland will become ever more important and it is my belief, along with that of the many people in this area to whom I've spoken that all the efforts of your government should be bent to preserving that farmland, not endangering it.

The current Growth Plan's intensification and density targets should NOT be reduced. There should not be simplified processes to apply for even lower targets than those within the Plan. Allowing settlement expansions of up to 40 hectares to occur outside of a Municipal Comprehensive Review just opens the door to farm breaking, which used to be a common practice in our area until the new regulations came in.

The proposed are all changes that will open the door for farmland loss and urban sprawl. I call on this Government to act responsibly to preserve farmland, a major economic driver in this province that is critical to our self sufficiency and welfare now and in years to come. Once covered over, farmland can never be retrieved; and in this province it is a more limited resource than in many others.