I am writing to you today to…

I am writing to you today to state my strong opposition to the proposal announced on November 4th to remove 7,400 acres of land from the Greenbelt. This decision needs to be reversed.

Removing lands from the protected Greenbelt is wrong and here is why:

It’s wrong because it is entirely unnecessary. Over 80,000 acres of land are available outside the Greenbelt to build housing on. Thousands of new housing units have been approved but are not being built – for example, only 9% of approved homes in the Waterloo Region have been built in the last two decades. There is also lots of room and opportunity to build inside our cities and towns by implementing gentle density so we build near where people want to live.

It’s wrong because this action will not create affordable housing. The building industry is the only one that complains that its products are too expensive. But on the contrary, they won’t charge less for their product voluntarily. Developers have made millions due to the rising housing costs over the last decade, and these homes will be no exception.

It’s wrong because Premier Ford and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, suddenly changed their tune and lied. The Premier declared his love for the Greenbelt – including in a now deleted tweet: “I listened to the people and we are not touching the Greenbelt.” The PCs did not run on this issue in the last election only five months ago!

It’s wrong because introducing land swaps in and out of the Greenbelt represents a dangerous precedent. All landowners in the Greenbelt will now try to have their land opened up for development. It’s akin to a drug dealer giving you that first hit: you will keep coming back.

It’s wrong because much of the land being swapped into the Greenbelt is already protected. It’s simply a smoke screen and a game of math gone awry.

This surprise proposal will destroy one of our country’s most beloved, essential and near-urban natural treasures. I am deeply concerned about the implications that come with removing lands from the Greenbelt, regardless of replacement by other lands in different areas. I urge you to please stop removing any lands from the Greenbelt.