I am opposed to the proposed…

I am opposed to the proposed plan to rezone portions of the Greenbelt for the following reasons.

First, I don't believe the proposed changes maintain the integrity of the Greenbelt. The Greenbelt borders were designed to protect specific ecosystems, not a particular volume of land, and were not meant to be redrawn. Adding new protections is generally valuable, but not at the loss of land which which is already functionally integrated in the ecosystem. It is also unclear to what extent the proposed additional land will benefit from Greenbelt protection, as it may be protected under other schemes.

Second, expanding urban sprawl with fast and cheap housing is a short-sighted attempt to address the housing crisis. The poor quality builds that result from rushed mass-production schedules cost more resources over time, and new residences built at the edges of municipal zones don't benefit from existing infrastructure, increasing car dependence and making it more difficult for transit, hydro, and sewage systems to provide services to residents. In other words, the proposed developments replicate patterns producing the expensive, high-carbon lifestyles found throughout southern Ontario.

Finally, drawing land from the Greenbelt for development is unnecessary. A recent report from the province's Housing Affordability Task Force points out that there is plenty of land already available for development. The report also indicates that zoning restrictions prevent the kind of centrally located, affordable housing that would be the housing crisis's most affordable and environmentally effective remedy.

At the time of writing, world leaders are debating how to minimize the climate disaster we are currently racing towards, Ontarians are struggling with continually increasing cost of living, and the global food supply is unstable. Bulldozing ecologically and agriculturally valuable land to continue urban sprawl is the least sensible option. We cannot continue uncritically repeating the assumptions that have led to these crises.