I am writing to state my…

I am writing to state my opposition to the proposal to remove 7,400 acres of land from the Greenbelt.

1) Most of the "replacement" lands are already protected, therefore little additional value would actually be added to the Greenbelt. Even if they weren’t already protected, "swapping out" the plots of land targeted for development destroys the permanence and certainty required for any part of the Greenbelt to function properly.

2) By permanently setting aside land for farming and natural heritage, the Greenbelt protects land from the intense speculation and development pressure in Southern Ontario. Without this permanent protection, agricultural land would quickly become completely unaffordable to farmers. Even raising the possibility of removing any land from the Greenbelt will create a speculative rush and intense development pressure on all the lands currently within the Greenbelt.

3) There is already a vast supply of unused greenfield land already open for development within existing municipal boundaries (350 square kilometers as of 2019) and the current round of Official Plans awaiting approval will add 42,000 additional hectares of non-Greenbelt land to that vast stockpile.

4) Given that we have an extreme shortage of homes in existing neighborhoods, and a long term shortage of materials, equipment and skilled labour, squandering our resources on resource-intensive Greenbelt sprawl will mean fewer homes in the places where they're desperately needed.

5) Building on the Greenbelt will further the destruction of critical natural areas in a time of climate crisis while also failing to deliver the urban transformation – or the affordable housing – that Ontario needs.

6) Most of these natural areas have had hundreds of years to develop and are not easily replaced anywhere else. They provide habitat to plants and wildlife right there, right now, at a time when many are listed as at-risk of extinction. It is a critical area in southern Ontario to protect our natural heritage, along with viable farmland supplying our cities with food.

In conclusion, please desist from removing any lands from the Greenbelt.