Though it is clear that this…

Though it is clear that this consultation is a token gesture and comments will not be considered I still feel it is important to voice our opinion before our greenbelt is irreparably damaged.

This bill marks a flip-flop by the Ford government, who promised in recent years to keep the Greenbelt free from development, and sets precedent for removal and sale of any protected land in this province to those with the closest connection to the currently elected party.

This proposal is unlikely to add any real additional housing to Ontario. There is currently over 85,000 acres of unused greenfield land already open for development within existing municipal boundaries and a long term shortage of materials, equipment and skilled labour. Earlier this year, Ontario’s government-appointed Housing Affordability Task Force said a shortage of land isn’t the cause of the province’s housing crisis. “Land is available, both inside the existing built-up areas and on undeveloped land outside greenbelts.” (see attached link) This proposal seeks to redirect those resources to developing sprawl in the form multi-million dollar houses where developers can profit instead of creating affordable housing where people need it.

The proposal claims that "approximately 2000 acres" will be added to the greenbelt but much of this land is already protected.

The damage done by removing protected lands can never be undone. "Swapping" these out for other protected lands only obfuscates and normalizes the damage. The result of this proposal is that now other Greenbelt landowners are asking for protections to be dropped on their properties.

I can only hope that future generations learn from our mistakes.