To Whom It May Concern, The…

To Whom It May Concern,

The Grand River Environmental Network is a proactive voice for the environment in the Grand River watershed. We are activists, watchdogs, guardians, stewards, and concerned citizens across this vast part of Ontario that is home to almost 1 million people.

It is extremely troubling to see the proposed changes to the provincial Municipal Environmental Assessment requirements. In this era of global climate crisis we need more protections for our natural environment and cultural heritage – not less.

We need more ability to appeal to government and raise concerns – not less.

Our municipalities need more guidance and oversight in these complex times – not less.

There needs to be more analysis and understanding of impacts on cultural heritage resources and municipal infrastructure projects – not less.

And last but not least particularly distressing is the way that aboriginal and/or treaty rights are dealt with in the new the proposal which poses great risks to Ancestor burial and archaeological sites, and does not fulfill the constitutional Duty to Consult and Accommodate. It puts Ontario in violation of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) which Canada adopted in 2016.

It is extremely concerning to see our provincial government proposing to change Municipal Environmental Assessments in such troubling ways and see more things exempted from the Municipal Comprehensive Environmental Assessment when we actually need more oversight, more resilience, better planning, and better collaboration between all levels of government – not the abdication of the province to protect the public, our environment, our natural heritage, our cultural heritage and the greater public good.

We are totally against these proposed changes and we strongly urge the Premier, Minister, Ministry, and the province to abandon these absurd Municipal EA proposals and streamlined regulations and maintain the current regulations that have served our province well for so many years.