The proposed changes to the…

The proposed changes to the ESA is a gift to developers, at the cost of all Ontarians and endangering food security.

I'm not leaving this comment to tell you that Ontarians value biodiversity and wildlife, and that the proposed changes eviscerating the ESA will harm both of those. You already know that.

I'm writing this comment to protest the long term economic damage that you will be doing to the province, and, in consequence, all Ontarians, regardless of whether they care for the environment or not.

Using economic language, natural areas and ecosystems provide a variety of what are called positive externalities, or benefits to third parties without imposing a cost on those third parties. Forests, for example, regulation of climate, carbon storage and erosion control. Pollinators such as bees (certain species are on the endangered list in Ontario) are important for food supply. In contrast, destroying these cause negative externalities, as do other things that impact the environment (such as polluting the air, water, etc.), meaning that the long-term social cost is not fully captured by the person or organization conducting these activities, but is rather passed on to everyone else. In effect, it is socialism - it is providing "welfare payments" for such persons or organizations.

I understand that the proposed legislation would allow developers to pay a certain fee for their actions in certain cases, and more housing is needed in the GTA. While I agree that these might mitigate the economic damage that the developers would causing, there's no provision in the legislation to ensure the fee or payment will be sufficient to capture the entire scope of the excessive negative externalities that they cause. This means that the difference between these negative externalities and the payment will be borne by Ontarians. In addition, there is no indication that this payment will go towards offsetting the negative externalities and thus the cost to Ontarians would be even greater.

I respectfully ask that you reconsider the proposed amendments to the ESA in light of the above.