The green belt was…

The green belt was established to protect lands that are important to Ontario’s ecology and hydrology so as to preserve naturally occurring wetlands, waterways, and agricultural land. Developing on these lands will be measurably detrimental to natural life in Ontario, and will cause issues with storm water runoff and watercourses. Expanding urban land onto agricultural space will only make food in Ontario more expensive than it already is, since we won’t be able to produce as much as is needed. Expanding urban boundaries is not what is needed to help Ontario’a housing crisis, we need to intensify urban areas and increase density in less dense urban neighborhoods. Ontario needs better built cities that allow citizens to walk or cycle more easily, supplemented with better public transit systems, both intra and inter-city. Destroying wetlands, natural ecosystems, and farmlands will certainly cause issues down the line, if not immediately.