The creation of the…

The creation of the Greenbelt was based on an excellent process, including many expert briefs, research, and public consultations. In the end, it was a very well thought out and implemented policy to protect our watersheds, wetlands, precious agricultural land, sensitive and unique eco-systems, and forests. As a long-time citizen of Ontario, I am very proud of the Greenbelt and how it protects the natural ecosystem that we all depend on for our basic needs and well-being, collectively, as a society.

This proposal to swap land will benefit a handful of wealthy property speculators and developers at the expense of the rest of the citizens of Ontario, now and in the future. It would also create a precedent for future land swaps, and as such it threatens the stability and certainty of the Greenbelt.

The addition of the new urban river valleys to the Greenbelt does not add much, since they were already protected. And, while the protection of part of the Paris-Galt Moraine could be a net positive, it’s not clear because the government has not provided the evidence required to make an informed decision about the ecological value of the Paris-Galt Moraine compared to the loss of other pieces of the protected area.

The Ontario Government's own expert panel on housing (Ontario’s Housing Affordability Task Force) concluded that there is enough land already available to build the new housing our growing population requires, without opening up the Greenbelt or other environmentally sensitive areas.

As a long-time citizen of Southern Ontario, I am opposed to opening up the Greenbelt for this land swap, and we should leave this treasure intact to benefit all of the people who live in Southern Ontario now and in the future.