Developing the Greenbelt is…

Developing the Greenbelt is not an acceptable course of action to meet housing demands. The Greenbelt is needed to support feeding the influx of people as well as to mitigate the potential risks to the GTA and surrounding communities associated with climate change. The Greenbelt features prime agricultural land that does not exist elsewhere in the province. We are already losing prime agricultural land daily. With the cost of living soaring, I do not wish to pay to import food that we have been growing ourselves for centuries. The more the land is developed, the more the control over our food production is lost. A line needs to be drawn and to remain. The protection of the Greenbelt cannot be eroded.

The Greenbelt is the headwaters of the GTA. Any further development puts the health of our natural ecosystems that supports our access to safe, clean water at risk. It also provides a carbon sink providing economic, environmental, and health benefits to surrounding communities.I believe the economic value of the greenbelt as a carbon sink has been found to equate approximately $10.7 billion per year. On the brink of global climate disaster, I do not understand how development of this protective resource can be justified.

The Greenbelt has been preserved thus far for many reasons well supported by evidence. If we divide it up and give it away to developers it can no longer serve us the way we need it to. To develop any of this land has been proven to be detrimental on many levels. It simply cannot be defended.

Once the land is developed, it will be up to the taxpayer to maintain it. This will not achieve the intended goal of adding affordable housing. What it will do is raise the cost of living for all of us. Finally, if not most importantly, the reason for developing the Greenbelt is a lie. To quote Ontario Nature, "As you know, in its 2022 report, Ontario's Housing Affordability Task Force stated that a shortage of land isn't the cause of Ontario's housing problem and that Greenbelts, environmentally sensitive areas and farmland must be protected."

I completely object to the development plans and actions regarding the Greenbelt. I believe the environmental concerns warrant more accountability from the current government to its citizens. There is a need for sustainable, long term planning that addresses how we might safeguard our communities from advancing climate change and food and water crises rather than rushed, mismanaged, and destructive growth. It needs to put the health of the environment and its people first rather than irresponsibly adhering to its own self-interested agendas.