The Greenbelt and the…

The Greenbelt and the Escarpment need more protections, not less. We all need more green spaces, not less. There is room for housing without bulldozing green spaces. We need stricter zoning and bylaws that enforce building density and limit sprawl. We need to use land within the cities — use it better and fill it in. All over Ontario, I see wasted and unused land and spaces within city centers, in cities of all sizes, while they grow at the edges into farmland and green spaces. All over Ontario I see development that only includes the tiniest of green spaces and parks: a playground, a soccer field, a walking path between buildings. These are not enough and they don’t match the types of valued green spaces that were saved and built decades ago.

I grew up at the base of the Niagara Escarpment in St. Catharines, by an area of the Escarpment owned by Brock University that continues into Short Hills Provincial Park. It is a good example of wetlands and mature forest that Brock tries to develop every decade or two, and it is in their long range development plan. I also grew up in the Bruce Peninsula where the natural landscape is quickly being turned into suburban lawns and flower gardens. These landscapes are important and worth protecting and saving. Compromises are possible. You can build housing without obliterating the native plants and soil.

The Green Belt and Escarpment need to be protected as they are. We do not have a housing crisis because there are too many green spaces. We have no obligation to give developers or any communities free range access to land. We do have an obligation to protect green spaces for now and the future.