Thank you for this…

Thank you for this opportunity to again express my outrage over Bill 5 and the creation of 'special economic zones'. There should be no special economic zones. All development should follow the rules, processes, and laws of the land. These processes and regulations have come about through democratic processes, unlike Bill 5 which violates our Treaty obligations and was pushed through without proper consultation or debate.

The priority should be to recognize that this is Indigenous land. The first step of any project must be consultation with the leaders of the Indigenous people. We must uphold our Treaties. The next step should be to conduct research. The final step is to go through all the bureaucratic processes that exist to protect the land and the creatures and people of Ontario. I recognize that proper research, consultation, and discussion takes time, but all major decisions should take time. You do not buy a house without reading and asking questions, consulting a lawyer, and conducting a thorough inspection.

Neoliberalism, and the belief that corporations, who prize money over everything else, will help the people of Ontario is a fallacy. If you want to help the people of Ontario, stop allowing corporations to bypass the laws and have a free pass through 'special economic zones'. Instead, help the people of Ontario by listening to them. Invest in Health Care, Education, and the Environment that sustains us. We live with the mistakes of the past. Mercury in our Great Lakes is a good example of prioritizing corporations and ignoring the environment. These special economic zones will create a similar legacy of pollution and destruction. Please do not let that happen.

I am hoping that democracy will prevail and that Bill 5 will be repealed. Thank you.