The proposed Greenbelt "land…

The proposed Greenbelt "land swap" will undermine the very fundamentals of the Greenbelt itself.

While the ecological value of the parts of the Paris-Galt Moraine being proposed is unclear because the government is refusing to release any evidence to back up its plan, the very notion of "land swaps" of the Greenbelt undermine its permanency. A Greenbelt "land swap" creates an incredibly powerful precedent that will weaken the Greenbelt significantly and allow it to be eroded through a death by thousand cuts. In completely ignoring water flows and animal migration patterns, an arbitrary "land swap" neglects the importance of habitat connectivity. Land on the edges of the Greenbelt are just as important as what’s at the centre. Moreover, the idea that the government can just "swap" Greenbelt land near Toronto for land further away means in the fullness of time, the Greenbelt will migrate. It will end up in northern Simcoe County or Oxford County if this pattern is continued.

This is nothing, but another ploy to grant developers with permits to profit from construction. The Housing Affordability Task Force reported earlier this year that “A shortage of land isn’t the cause of the problem ... Land is available, both inside the existing built-up areas and on undeveloped land outside greenbelts.”