Comments on expanding the…

Comments on expanding the Greenbelt  March 6, 2018

I write these comments as a resident of Niagara Falls.  I am in full support of the Greenbelt and of expanding the greenbelt.  However, I would like the province to keep in mind that there are negative effects arising from the Greenbelt model of protecting Ontario’s natural areas and thus its water.

Niagara Falls is south of the greenbelt and none of our land is included in the Greenbelt.  Many of our politicians take this to mean that all of Niagara Falls and the towns south of us are an open frontier, ripe for settlement.

We have lost most of our wetlands and forests and greenbelts.   We very much need to hold on to what is left.  Recently, 10 metre buffers have been approved by Niagara Falls Council for a residential development adjacent to both a PSW and a forested area.

Protecting northern Ontario’s water sources is necessary of course.  So is protecting what we have left in the south.  We rely on surface water for drinking; most of it is deemed poor quality by the NPCA.  We have only one cold water stream.  Many of our other streams were likely at one time cold water streams too.  We have lost much of the vegetation that had once shaded our streams. Agricultural runoff and road salt and other pollutants threaten our wetlands and surface water sources.

The Greenbelt will probably never come into settlement areas.  However, urban forests and wetlands are more important here than they are in the north where they are more plentiful.  We are more likely to experience flooding disasters, drought disasters and bad air days because of the rapid growth here with roads and housing impacting the ability of nature to mitigate these effects.

Urban wetlands and forests provide immeasurable benefits to urban dwellers, both in physical and mental health.  They can provide a place to get away from the tensions of the city and a place for children to connect with the natural world.

Our local politicians are giving developers the go-ahead to build in sensitive natural areas. These areas are shovel ready and there seems to be no incentive for developers to build in brownfields and in areas with fewer natural features.

Our Natural Heritage System is disappearing in the Niagara Region, despite the province’s promise of protections.

Please tell us how the Province can help us with our fight to save Niagara’s natural areas, and thus protect our water.

[Original Comment ID: 213433]