March 28, 2024 Chair Laurie…

March 28, 2024

Chair Laurie Scott and Members
Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy

Input to Bill 162 Getting it Done Act 2024

Ontario is a beautiful province but it is threatened by climate change as outlined in
the government’s own Ontario Provincial Climate Change impact Statement - https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontario-provincial-climate-change-impact-as…

“Climate change requires a whole-of-government approach, and as we build Ontario, it is vital we do so in a way that will protect the well-being of current and future generations, safeguard the natural environment, ensure food and water security, enhance infrastructure and strengthen our economy.”

On page xvi, the Impact Statement goes on to say: “Climate change is already causing significant changes to Ontario’s natural environment, and risks to species, habitats, and ecosystems, will continue to rise into the future. The impact assessment finds that risk profiles across almost all natural systems and species assessed are rising to ‘high’ by mid-century.”

Bill 162 contains policies that will aggravate environmental destruction and increase levels of polluting greenhouse gases. As a grandmother concerned about the future, I respectfully offer the following input on Bill 162:

Schedule 1 - Expropriation of land for the common good should not occur before an environmental assessment. It appears that this will speed up Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass which are not in the best interests of Ontario residents.

Schedule 2 - Bill 162 is the most auto-friendly legislation the motor vehicle retailers of Ontario have seen in years. This government policy does not reflect the cost of increasing transportation emissions. More cars on the road means:

- smog, pollution
- noise, stress
- health issues caused by sitting in your car in traffic
increased levels of asthma, dementia etc

Is this the legacy that the government wants to pass on their grandchildren? The government should focus on urban and regional transit. We need to build more pedestrian and cycling friendly infrastructure.

Schedule 3 - Offical Plan Adjustments Act, 2023

I am not in favour of forced urban boundary expansions. Urban sprawl locks in increased greenhouse gas emissions at a time when the United Nations has asked all countries to halve their emissions by 2030. Negative side effects of sprawl include: 

higher water and air pollution,
• increased traffic fatalities and jams,
• loss of agricultural capacity - increases cost of farmland
• increased car dependency,
• higher taxes given the need to build new infrastructure,
• decrease in social capital and
• loss of natural habitats, wildlife and open space.

Schedule 5 Protecting against Carbon Taxes Act
I am in favour of a price on pollution. We are going to have to pull together to survive the impact of climate change.

The main driver of climate change is burning fossil fuels. Collectively we have to reduce the amount of CO2 going into the atmosphere. A price on pollution was originally an idea from the Conservative Party. This week dozens of economists said the price on carbon is the cheapest way to cut the most emissions - https://www.cp24.com/news/economists-defend-liberals-carbon-price-as-po…

Fighting the carbon tax and postponing climate action is irresponsible and unfair to future generations.

Scientists around the world, echoed by the United Nations warn of the climate crisis. How can the Ontario government turn a deaf ear to these warnings? I hope Committee members will read the Ontario Provincial Climate Impact Statement.

Schedule 6 Public Tranportation and Highway Improvement Act

We don’t need another 400 highway. The proposed Highway 413 will promote urban sprawl - low-density development (such as single-family homes) on large plots of land over a large area, sometimes extending for miles outside of the urban limits. The highway is a gift to developers who have purchased land along the proposed route.

If built, Highway 413 would cut through:
2,000 acres of farmland
- cross 85 waterways
- pave nearly 400 acres of protected Greenbelt land - disrupt 220 wetlands and - impact the habitats of 10 species at risk.

Southern Ontario's green spaces enhance our health and well being. Why destroy the environment during a climate emergency just to give land to developers? We need to preserve farmland to help with food security which will be threatened by climate change.