Local autonomy will be lost through Bill 66, says Thompson

The Ontario government's Great Lakes bill isn't an environmental bill, it is a red-tape bill, says Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson, Progressive Conservative (PC) environment critic.

"This legislation is all about the Liberals trying to look as if they are protecting the environment when in reality, they are putting measures in place that would strip away local autonomy, interfere with rural operations and increase the amount of red tape that people will have to deal with," Thompson says. "In typical Liberal fashion, instead of working with the laws and agreements that are already in place to protect our Great Lakes, the government is instead burdening us with more red tape for its 'photo-opportunity environmentalism'."

 

While there are at least six items within the bill that are of concern to the PC Caucus, the greatest problem stems from the bill's ability to override existing Official Plans and zoning by-laws, says Thompson.

 

 "If it becomes law, this legislation would allow the environment minister to begin creating initiatives that he thinks are appropriate, with little or no consideration for local views or priorities," she says. "The people of Ontario did not give this government a mandate to remove local decision-making processes and replace them with further red tape. Over the past 12 years, we have seen the results of this government forcing its will on municipalities. Rural landscapes are littered with unwanted industrial wind farms as a result of the Green Energy Act, stripping away local decision-making.

 

"While the PC Caucus supports the long-term health of the Great Lakes, this bill is flawed and will only increase the red tape associated with any valid initiatives, and at the same time, leading to a dangerous loss of municipal autonomy. This is the third draft of this bill and our caucus has made substantive recommendations each and every time. None of them has ever been accepted by this government. The bill remains flawed and we can't support this legislation."