The greenbelt was not…

The greenbelt was not protected for the sake of protecting a certain quota of land. It is protected because it is essential habitat for many Species at Risk (SAR) and because it is an important wildlife migration corridor. The greenbelt protects habitat for endangered species such as the bobolink and eastern small-footed bat for which there are active species recovery strategies being funded by the government, which eliminating these portions of the greenbelt would actively oppose. This area of the greenbelt is also an important buffer against urban sprawl, which is especially dangerous near Milton where urban expansion has increased unchecked until it reached the greenbelt, and because the area of expansion is so close to vital SAR habitat. This bill is a poorly concealed attempt by Ford to remove environmental protections for the sake of development and personal profit. While housing is an important issue, there are less detrimental alternatives. Shifting greenbelt status to a different area in order to remove it from current locations is an act that clearly misunderstands the importance of why current locations were selected for protection, and doing so will have irreversible and serious effects on conservation and environmental health. This bill is in direct opposition to the goals and objectives of the Species at Risk Act.
This is a project that Doug Ford has attempted to push through several times and failed because the public has clearly and repeatedly expressed its opposition to it.
Shame on Doug Ford and his colleagues for attempting to push it through again after public statements that he will "maintain the Greenbelt in it's entirety" if he were elected following previous failed attempts to develop the area.