There is no question that…

There is no question that Ontario needs more housing; however, it should not be at the expense of the environment. There is absolutely no need to build houses in the Greenbelt, especially since Premier Ford earlier stated publicly that no land in the Greenbelt would be open to development! Environmental protection enacted by the Ontario government should not be subjected to unnecessary changes.
The government’s own housing committee said that land was not the problem for housing. There is more than enough land already earmarked for development within the GTA. There is no need to remove significant lands and waters from the Greenbelt. Fragmenting this landscape compromises its ability to build resilience to climate change and provide wildlife habitat, particularly for species at risk.
Replacing it with other lands outside the Greenbelt is not a solution. Building houses on Ontario’s best farmland is not environmentally or economically sound and puts more Ontarians at risk of food insecurity as more food will have to be imported at higher costs.
Cutting fees for developers will leave municipalities short of funds to build the necessary infrastructure (roads, sewage, water treatment, waste disposal) to support this new housing. Taxpayers will be faced with increases in their property taxes to support infrastructure for these new housing developments.
The government must honour its promise to keep the Greenbelt protected from development. Removing any land from the Greenbelt is unacceptable.