Withdraw Bill 23. Preserve…

Withdraw Bill 23. Preserve the Greenbelt as is. Or, add to it without removing from it. Bill 23 is not progress. It is regress. It is focused on today, and not tomorrow. It is not a plan. It is a pander.

We need homes built closer to existing infrastructure, not where new infrastructure needs to be built and maintained at the cost of local ratepayers. Those higher taxes are an unfair burden on us 905rs made to subsidize wealthy developers to build sprawl.

We need homes that are not built far away from good employment. No one enjoys driving 2 or 3 + hours a day just to commute to their job. Grandparents might think this plan will result in their kids and grandkids living close but all will quickly discover the toll these far-flung housing projects will take on the family. Grandparents had better give up their plans to be snowbirds and instead become babysitters and chauffeurs and financial subsidizers. No wonder they want to save a few pennies on a litre of gas. They know they will be driving distances on a regular basis. Now, on the other hand, if their kids and grandkids lived in an in-build nearby (maybe even on their own property!), what a pleasure and convenience that would be. Give those grandparents decent options so they can move out of their single family dwelling and pass it on.

For the people yet to come to Ontario there is already enough potential for 'building more'. We need to in-build but not with 'monster mansions'. We need raised 2 story 4 plexes, semis, low rise apartments/condos that are larger than 600 sq feet, small townhouse plexes instead of a monster mansion. How about 3 bedroom apartments with a living room, kitchen and 1+ bathrooms and a balcony? I am a senior and cannot/will not live in a 600 sq foot space. I would appreciate the 3 bedroom etc condo/apartment in town so I can walk/scooter/public transit to nearby community services and retailers. That would free up my single dwelling house and presto! A 'new' house for a family just like that. But with the total lack of appropriate housing for me I am not moving from that house, even as it becomes too large for me. And so that stock remains locked up. I am not the only senior who would like to downsize but go where? I would like to give up my car but how will I get around? Sprawl housing as planned by this government requires people to keep driving even at an advanced age. It requires households to have numerous cars.

This lack of planning does not admit the tsunami of single family dwellings that will hit the market when my generation dies/is institutionalized (in what this PC government thinks is elder-care). But then, I know that is not what this plan is about. This plan is about enriching PC donors and speculators who knew when they bought the lands, they were designated Greenbelt. They knowingly got themselves into this. It should not be Ontarians who have to bail them out by enduring the loss of our valuable farmland and increased traffic and pollution. A better solution than Bill 23 is to expropriate these speculated-on lands and maintain them as Greenbelt. The message needs to be sent that gaming the system will not work.

We need senior housing plans, not single family homes in the rural areas. Those poor kids and parents who will have to drive everywhere. That does not create a community and we have many social woes as 'community' is diminished to a sea of houses with roads that are designed to head to the highway to somewhere else.

Has anyone in cabinet actually driven to the proposed lands to be released in Ajax at the conjunction of the 401, highway 2 and expanded Lakeridge? Who on earth would want to live there? It is farmland and should remain farmland. We need locally grown food that is fresh when delivered to our stores and that land is perfect for that purpose.

We need to retain and maintain our word-class farmland. Is no one in the housing ministry paying attention to $15 romaine lettuce? Ontario has a growing population that needs to be fed and climate change means that will be more difficult. Transporting that food from other places is expensive, results in hard sour poor taste and poor nutrition product. With climate change those places themselves (e.g. California) are unable to provide supply. The Pickering Duffins-Rouge Agricultural Preserve is a gem of farmland but will be a polluting disgrace as a subdivision. After the topsoil is scoured off these residents will be lucky to get dandelions to grow. That precious topsoil will be sold off in plastic bags at the local big box store. It took eons to be created. Rainfall will run off the land, not soak in. Lots more stormdrains will be sending more salt and chemicals into Lake Ontario (our drinking water supply) and through the watersheds polluting as they go.

We need less light and noise and air pollution. Those attack our quality of life and health. How can we manage our increasing health costs if our government pushes policies that harm our health? More highways, more roads, more vehicles, more street lights, more traffic and more big box plazas all hurt us and hurt our small businesses. Wal-Mart loves a big box plaza. My neighbour trying to operate a small business does not. I have no shared cause with Wal-mart. I do with my neighbour. Funny this government-for-the-people is hostile to small businesses. In-builds already have lights and sewers and roads and sidewalks. No need to build more. We do not need to have more snowplows, more fire stations, more police stations, more municipal vehicles , more garbage trucks and so on. In-building helps limit those extra expenses the developers will not have to pay the price for, but I and my neighbours will.

We are not the only creatures who live here. I grew up in small town in Ontario. We never saw a raccoon. Coyotes did not come through our wooded neighbourhood. Nor did deer. They did not have to, they had 'north of 7' to live in. Pets and people were safe. Now people fear walking their dogs in south Ajax.

One problem begets another problem.

Adding to as compensation for taking away is insulting as it implies I cannot figure out the bait and switch. The Greenbelt needs its integrity preserved, not destroyed by being scattered about. I know a contiguous spread of land has superior integrity to isles of Greenbelt. A lot of study was put into what should be in the Greenbelt long ago. By experts. People need to be able to rely on past decisions and move on. That is predictability and that is what people want, not whimsical pandering pop-up policy per the government of the day.

We must preserve watersheds that protect the homes we have as well as infrastructure. Flooding is expensive and heartbreaking and insurance companies are increasingly shying away from /reducing the coverage they offer. Bill 23 is going to make existing housing insurance more expensive, and increase the risks of flooding. Will there be free handouts of sump pumps? Will this PC government subsidize my insurance? Pay for damage to my home caused by flooding? I do what I can on my property to minimize those risks only to see that just up the road acres of pavement and concrete and roofs and other hard surfaces are promoted by this PC government.

The Greenbelt and agricultural lands and woodland nature of Ontario are what make it beautiful and a premier place to live. There are lots of other places in the GTA already planned for building residences. Conservative includes 'don't buy what you don't need'. We cannot afford the price. We need stability, predictability and sustainability.

1. This is not a 'build homes better' plan but a 'reward for donor developers' plan.
2. We need a 'better way to build homes' plan for everyone and to free up existing single dwellings.
3. This is a complete waste of the expense and effort of prior reports that reached conclusions about the Greenbelt and is something we should be able to plan/rely on. It is a waste/disruptive to throw out plans every few years. It teaches us to not trust the government of the day and foment resentment.
4. This emphasizes that the words of governments and premiers, and this one in particular, cannot be trusted.
5. This is not a government 'for the people'. No wonder the slogan changed. This is government for the rich, connected and privileged.
6. This PC government has a problem with 'experts' and that is scary.
7. This PC government panders to speculators and that is scary.
8. While this PC government rewards developers who will make millions of dollars, it gives me a $120 a year gimmick (if I cannot afford $120 a year to get a car permit, I cannot afford a car) or a few cents a litre on gasoline (same, if I cannot afford, time to sell the car).
9. I want my government to focus on quality of life, which should be how to continue to make Ontario a beautiful and healthy place to live for most of us, not a money-pot for the privileged connected few.