I am commenting as a…

I am commenting as a Professor of the University of Toronto on evolutionary biology and on a citizen of the Peel region. The proposed amendments to the greenbelt will have dramatic impact on the ecological diversity of the province. While a land-swap may appear to be a net gain for the green belt, reforestation and renaturalization takes time and it will without a doubt have large immediate impacts that will not recover for decades.

Other than purely environmental reasons, the Ontario House Affordability Task Force produced a report detailing housing recommendations to both decrease the cost of housing and to increase the number of homes in area around the GTA. The report outlines "Making land available to build" and mentions that a land swap with the greenbelt is not necessary. The report shows evidently that issues related to zoning are more effective at solving housing issues.

If anybody has ever visited cities of Europe, or even cities in Canada such as Montreal, it would reveal that the amount of green space we have in the Peel region is laughable for our population density. It is likely that half of the space we have is used for drive ways, parking lots, and roads.

I implore the Ontario government to listen to its own recommendations by the housing affordability task force and to reject the proposed amendments to the greenbelt. If the goal is to create business for builders and developers, then I would remind you that increasing density, bettering the transit system and infrastructure, and improving livability around city centers will also do that.