(Jed Tallo/GazetteStaff)
Dear MPP Tyler Allsopp,
I’m writing to you as your constituent in Bay of Quinte to urge you to reject Bill 5 in its current form.
I won’t go into every flaw in the bill, as I know you’ve already received letters outlining the serious concerns. You’re aware, as I am, of the significant risks: the removal of legal safeguards that protect vulnerable communities and Indigenous Peoples, the undoing of decades of conservation work, and the threats to Ontario’s most at-risk species.
Bill 5 prioritizes corporate greed over the well-being of people, the environment, and Indigenous rights. It serves developers and the wealthy at the expense of the land, the water, and the people who have stewarded them for generations. It caters to Doug Ford’s political interests and those of his stakeholders while sacrificing the future of our province’s ecosystems.
The pandemic was a traumatic time, but it also revealed something powerful: when industrial activity paused, the land and wildlife began to recover. It gave me hope that our government might recognize the damage we’ve done and choose a better path.
But I was naive.
Have you seen the movie Idiocracy? It imagines a future where capitalism has overridden basic knowledge—people are baffled that plants won’t grow when watered with sports drinks. It’s satire, but frighteningly close to our reality. Or what about The Lorax? Dr. Seuss warned us about what happens when we exploit nature for profit. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. It’s a grim mirror of where Ontario is headed.
Supporting Bill 5 as it stands would cast you as a villain in the inevitable Netflix documentary: How Doug Ford Killed Ontario. You have a choice—to stand with the majority of Ontarians who believe in Indigenous rights and a livable, sustainable planet, or to side with those who seek only to profit from its destruction.
Please make the right choice.
Alison Kelly, Cherry Valley
Your reporting on Shire Hall presents a simplistic picture of views on development in Prince Edward County. It reduces what are often complex perspectives on new housing and associated issues, not just those of Councillors but also those of PEC residents, to being “for” or “against”.
If a Councillor or a resident asks questions about environmental impacts, adequate infrastructure and services and, most importantly, whether what is being developed actually meets the needs of those living and moving here, are we anti-development? An emphatic “no.”
What percentage of the many new homes and units already built in subdivisions around Picton, and other parts of PEC, are affordable? How many are sitting empty? Where are the services, such as daycare?
The average home price in Picton, according to the Picton Housing Market Report, is $775,000. Average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is $1,593.
Does Mayor Ferguson have the answers to the tough questions? Whose interests does he, or any Councillor for that matter, actually represent? Is the answer to PEC’s woes to vest more powers in one elected official, the Mayor?
Let’s remember what Churchill said about democracy: “It’s theworst form of government except for all the others.”
L. Ann Hardy, Prince Edward County
I write to second Reverend Phil Hobbs’s praise of both The Gazette for bringing him, and Charlie Angus for coming, to Picton. (Letters, May 28). He gave a heartening, unifying, inspiring speech to the hundreds of residents who turned out to hear him. (The speech is on Charlie’s YouTube, if you missed it.)
I write also to commend the Reverend for sharing a first-hand account of the powerful effects of the boycott of the United States by ordinary Canadians.
He described crossing over to the U.S. to visit family, only to find the bridge and the customs office deserted. His was the only car in the line.
I loved that image, and I write to suggest the Gazette start a regular column to highlight the effects of the boycott by ordinary Canadians.
I’ll share one such story to start. I was talking with a friend visiting from Los Angeles last week. He was relieved and delighted to be out of dodge and the pressures of actually trying to live and work in Trump’s America. He noted that California’s tourism industry was experiencing its first contraction since the pandemic, and that it was much larger than expected.
I looked into this, and it is quite true. The tourism industry in California is declaring a “crisis.” International arrivals were down 11 percent in March and have probably fallen since. Air arrivals from Canada had fallen by 16 percent! We can still do better though. Air travel from Mexico has plummeted by 25 percent.
Keep up the good work, Canadians!
Lesley Biggs, Milford
See it in the newspaper
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