Aidan McLeish

Barrie, ON, Canada

1st January 2019

Doug Downey
MPP for Barrie- Springwater- Oro-Medonte
14-20 Bell Farm Rd.
Barrie, ON, Canada
L4M 6E4

Dear Mr. Downey,

It has come to my attention that the government intends to pass a controversial piece of
legislation known as Bill 66 or, “Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act”. Namely, Schedule 5
and 10 of said act is what concerns myself, my family, and fellow community members within
our municipality. Your government has used the narrative of “Cutting red-tape” as an
explanation for this omnibus bill, which I do not entirely oppose. On the contrary, I believe that
reducing the regulatory burden on municipalities typified by reductions in duplicative regulations
is a common-sense policy. However, as Barrie’s mayor Jeff Lehman so eloquently explained,
“This goes way, way, way too far”. Specifically, Schedule 10 of this act, which allows
municipalities to ignore many environmental laws and regulations which help to protect and
preserve Lake Simcoe, the Greenbelt, and the Ontario environment as a whole.

I read your statement in which you insist "I don’t have concerns that Simcoe is going to
be in any way compromised. And the municipalities around it have a vested interest in making
sure it’s not.” I appreciate this promise, but the policy speaks for itself. Regardless of how you
look at the situation, you are removing policy’s that were designed to prevent environmental
damage. Period. The government has maintained that it is dedicated to clean water, air, and that
these will not be compromised because of this bill, but that’s not what this bill says. It says that if
you can create enough jobs, you can ignore certain provisions in: Clean Water Act, Greenbelt
Act, 2005, Great Lakes Protection Act, Lake Simcoe Protection Act, 2008, Oak Ridges Moraine
Conservation Act, 2001, Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016. This is
unacceptable short-term thinking.

As of December 15th, I am now 18. I cannot express how elated I am to be able to

participate in my democratic system and to finally feel as if I have a voice. I am aggrieved
however, to be standing in a political field which so disrespectfully disregards the well-being of
this earth. Pointing to schedule 15 of bill 57, your government abolished the independent
Environmental commissioner. To me, that appears as if the government is trying to silence its
critics. That is not the sign of a healthy democracy, and I hope that you can see that too.

Admittedly, I would not have voted for you if I was 18 during the 2018 election; there is
an inherent bias in my letter to you today and I recognize that. I fully understand Mr. Downey,
that to some voters, not matter what you do, you will never appease them. Nevertheless, I hope
today that you will stop and see how this is not partisan- the biosphere does not see Conservative
vs. Liberal vs. NDP. We, as a society, have an obligation to treat the environment respectfully
and live sustainably. Bill 66 can survive and fulfill the promises of the PC government without
schedule 5 and 10. In the spirit of compromise and democracy, I beg of you to remove these
articles from the Bill and preserve our environmental safeguards. Please fight for our rights at
Queen’s park, and do not get washed away in the partisan rhetoric. Finally, I end with this quote:

“Environmentalism isn't a discipline or specialty. It's a way of seeing our place in the
world. And we need everybody to see the world that way. Don't think 'In order to make a
difference I have to become an environmentalist.'” – David Suzuki

Yours respectfully,

Aidan McLeish