Plan and amendment contain…

The GGH Plan and amendment contain no information about how protection of rural areas, class one and two farmland, and Greenbelt areas will be enforced. Equally, there is no information about how aggregates will be monitored. This is one of the most poorly-policed industries in Ontario, is the biggest source of damage to ground water in this province, and aggregate companies intentionally do not mine out pits so they can avoid the cost of rehabilitation, preferring to open new pits. This has destroyed and will destroy thousands of hectares of class one farmland in Ontario. Class one and two farmland is irreplaceable. Residents of this province need food security, not just a lot of new housing developments on greenlands and farmland. Developments could be built in rehabilitated pits.

"Easy access to food, shelter, education, health care, arts and recreation, and information technology" is not enough. As Covid-19 has demonstrated, thousands of Ontarians want easy access to large expanses of Nature. For example, once parks were re-opened, Forks of the Credit Provincial Park was overwhelmed by over 10,000 visitors per day. The David Crombie Report found that 90% of Ontarians want the Greenbelt expanded. You need to take these facts into consideration when planning for growth.

The Greenbelt is not being protected from destruction by aggregates, despite your statement that "The proposed changes would make it easier to establish new mineral aggregate operations closer to market throughout the GGH outside of the Greenbelt." Nor is ground water being protected from aggregates, waste water treatment and other sources of contaminant.

Growth is predicated on immigration, a pre-Covid concept which may or may not continue at such high levels in future. Hence, to say that "Lower forecasts for population... are not permitted" is somewhat specious.

I endorse the comments of Gravel Watch, Ontario Nature, Environmental Defence and Oxford Coalition for Social Justice.

We need to think about the healthy future of human and natural residents of the province, not just "the economy".