My comment is in regard to…

My comment is in regard to Bill 23 and the Greenbelt Review

I am a member of the public who lives in the Greenbelt and works in an Agri-Business. I am appalled at the idea of opening up Greenbelt lands to development. There are so many options for building housing without disturbing the Greenbelt. This includes infill and vertical development rather than big single-family homes and suburban sprawl.

With Climate Change being the main crisis that humans are facing it seems folly for environmental and carbon reduction reasons, but also for water and food security.

Once we build on sensitive environmental areas or prime agricultural lands, they are gone forever.

Wetlands mitigate flooding and are important for biodiversity. Wetlands store carbon and developing them releases greenhouse gases. They filter our ground water - an important source of drinking water.

Farmland is disappearing in the Greater Golden Horseshoe at an alarming rate, According to the Greenbelt Foundation, more than 450,000 acres of farmland has been lost since 1991. Aside from the carbon footprint of importing food, we learned during the height of the pandemic that it was rife with supply change issues, leaving us with empty shelves.

In addition to good environmental stewardship and food security, maintaining the Greenbelt is good for the economy. Farming in Ontario, rather than elsewhere, employs people and keeps money in the Province. It is the same with flood mitigation and other natural disasters. They come at a great cost to individuals and Governments who have to invest a lot of money in clean up and support. Mitigation is key, the Greenbelt was designed to help with that.

Please consider leaving Greenbelt development out of any Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022., planning. It will be better for all of us and future generations, if you do.