Minister Khanjin, I would…

Minister Khanjin,

I would like to take this opportunity to express my disappointment at the speed of implementation and the lack of community consultation in relation to this proposed legislation.
I do agree that streamlining processes and regulations to help speed up projects across the province is essential. However, I feel that due consideration of the weaknesses in this proposed legislation require more consultation with the bodies, professional and regulatory, involved in the Environmental Assessments for development and protection activities.
As a member of the Ontario Archaeological Society, I have recently become aware of this proposed revocation of the revoke the Municipal Class EA (MCEA) and Private Sector Developers Regulation in favour of a new “streamlined Environmental Assessment process.”, and numerous municipal projects such as
-municipal roads
-bridge reconstruction
-private sector infrastructure
would no longer be evaluated under the EA act.
The changes which have been proposed will not provide any concrete protection for Ancestor burials or archaeological heritage. The resulting reduced consultation with Indigenous communities on development projects would contravene Canada’s commitments as a signature of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Truth and Reconciliation Committee’s Calls to Action.
Revoking the MCEA and the Private Sector Developers Regulation would remove the framework by which municipalities and private developers currently ensure they meet their legal obligations with relation to the Ontario Heritage Act, the Cemeteries Act, and the Duty to Consult and Accommodate Indigenous communities.
As a citizen of Ontario, not just an archaeologist, I also consider this a move to place environmental protections for these lands as targets of greed, profit over common sense, an insult to the importance of this irreplaceable farmland and a threat to the future health of our province.

Susan Dermarkar PhD
Blackstock, Ontario