Dear Editor:
Doug Ford is at it again! He wanted to break up the Greenbelt to make developers millions of dollars. He was called out by voters and his own MPPs and finally reversed course. Now he has devised another way to grab land and power in Bill 5.
The bill ignores environmental legislation and protections, archeological investigations, and consultation with the First Nations.
These lawless Special Economic Zones could be declared anywhere. The Wilmot farms or any farm could be expropriated at the premier’s whim. The Dresden dump, owned by a major donor to the Conservative Party, could be approved despite being located over a creek that empties into the Sydenham River.
It is a pay-to-play situation open to further corruption, environmental devastation, and it is a gross insult to Indigenous people.
Nine First Nations have asked for an injunction against Bill 5 as it violates our charter and is a danger to treaties in addition to democracy, municipal planning and farmland.
First Nations have a successful track record of winning in court while Ontario taxpayers continue to pay for Doug Ford’s bad decisions that land the province in court so often!
This ill conceived Bill 5 needs to be rescinded before it creates more havoc and costs taxpayers for the resulting damage!
Donna McCaw,
Elora