I am not in favour of this…

I am not in favour of this bill, for many reasons:
1) It reimposes changes to urban boundaries established by the Region of Waterloo. A previous government bill made most of these changes. Then, due to opposition by the people of Ontario, the government apologized and they were retracted. Reimposing them demonstrates government insincerity. This kind of flip-flop wastes a lot of peoples’ time.
2) It is too vague. For example, maps that identify the specific lands whose use is being changed are hidden in an office in Toronto. They aren’t included in the bill. This opens up the possibility of “misinterpretation” of the specific target lands of the bill.
3) These additional lands aren’t needed. A lot of time and effort went into designing the Waterloo region Official Plan and it involved consultations with many stakeholders. A large supply of rural land is already designated for development. Furthermore, the Region of Waterloo has some of the best farmland in the country and it should be protected. Focusing on development in rural areas instead of urban centres will lead to more sprawl which produces expensive homes that are not what is required in the current housing shortage.
4) It severely weakens the Environmental Assessment Act. While the amendment is billed as a way to “streamline the process”, it appears to just be a means to push ahead with controversial highway projects like the 413 and the Bradford bypass without regard for the environmentally sensitive lands and species at risk those highways will destroy. Disregarding the need to thoroughly assess the environmental impacts of such projects will certainly have negative impacts of the future health and well-being of our province because of the unnecessary destruction of natural areas and farmland.
5) Removing the Driver License Renewal fee removes an important revenue source for the government, as does removal of the vehicle registration fee. Being able to drive a vehicle is a privilege and people should pay for that privilege.