I am appalled that the…

I am appalled that the provincial government is going to violate the Green Belt. This contradicts the Premier's pledge to not touch it, and violates the voter's trust in his word. It also promotes the wrong kind of housing growth. Expanding suburbia is wasteful, both in the immediate and the long term, and both in terms of the land consumed and the cost of the infrastructure that has to be built and then maintained. It is the most wasteful of solutions to the housing crisis, which it won't address because it will result in the wrong kind of housing being built, at prices that those who need housing - my children and my grandchildren, as well as new immigrants to Ontario - will not be able to afford. It will result in even worse commutes and more traffic congestion on all the major arteries, as well as any future highways built (which are also a huge waste of funds that would be better spent on regional public transit). Instead, we need intensification in the urban and existing suburban areas, with more options and a greater variety of housing. Even just changing the zoning bylaws to allow the construction of 4-unit housing on lots currently zoned for single-family homes would be a major step forward. I am from Kitchener-Waterloo, where we are experiencing intensification. While some of it is more successful than other projects, the net effect has been tremendously positive, reviving the downtown cores of both Waterloo and Kitchener in an exhilarating way. It has justified the investment in our new light-rail transit system, which has been operating in a synergistic way - the one feeding the other - the transit system encouraging development along its route, development along its route feeding the success of the transit system. Mid-rise construction is especially attractive, as a street-friendly and pedestrian-friendly solution that provides significantly more housing while not turning the city into a tunnel of towers, and without compromising the neighbourhoods behind and around them. The Green Belt is key to the long-term health of Ontario - both as a source of outdoor experiences for Ontarians, as well as to the province's environmental health, which is already badly degraded. It contains rich and vital farmlands, as well as environmentally important spaces. It cannot be compromised. I object strongly to any violation of the Green Belt. And this would be a make-or-break issue for me in any future elections.