I support actions to grow…

I support actions to grow our national and provincial economy, especially in the face of unpredictable imposed tariffs -- but only if we don't destroy our province so that it is uninhabitable by future generations.

I want my 2 year old granddaughter to have a future.
So I want more guardrails in place.

All proposed Special Economic Zones must be first assessed for their environmental, health, safety and cumulative impacts. No designations shall be made in environmentally or culturally sensitive areas.

There must be stated, explicit, protections for natural heritage, water quality, climate resilience, and cumulative environmental impacts. There must be assurances by the proponent that strong environmental oversight will be continuous throughout the project. Proponents must submit evidence to show they are capable of providing this, and have a good record of having done so in the past.

The current proposal states there will be no change of control, without the consent of the Minister.
Ministerial consent alone is not sufficient. It is unreasonable to expect any Minister to have the scientific and professional knowledge to assess the impacts of a change in control of a project.

The saga of the Dresden Dump is a cautionary tale. Even though it all happened without Dresden even being declared a Special Economic Zone, here we have a site being quickly passed through the hands of one, two, and now three companies -- none of whom have any history of environmentally safe waste management, nor have they had to prove their expertise or ability to protect the Great Lakes water system upon which so many municipalities depend for their drinking water.

Let's learn from this, and make sure Special Economic Zones are better protected than the citizens of Chatham-Kent and all other Ontarians who drink Great Lakes water.