My family and I are against…

My family and I are against removing existing land from the Greenbelt. Swapping already protected Greenbelt lands for different parcels elsewhere defeats the original purpose of protecting the land - to preserve precious premium farmland and to curb rampant and irresponsible urban sprawl.

There is no justifiable reason to build on these protected lands. However, there are many reasons to respect the land and leave the Greenbelt as is such as protecting biodiversity, the wetlands and helping to ensure food security by keeping prime farmland as farmland. We should not make any changes to the Greenbelt that do not support climate resilience.

There is no justifiable reason to build on these protected lands. Hamilton has an existing plan to accommodate urban growth through to 2051 within the existing boundary. Taking from the greenbelt will not help build homes faster as those proposed areas are currently unserviced. Building homes within the existing boundary that is already serviced will be quicker, which is the point. Expanding out of the current boundary will be too costly to us as municipal taxpayers.

There is no justifiable reason to build on these protected lands. We were told by this current Ontario government that they would NOT take from the Greenbelt after we made it loud and clear that this was not acceptable in 2018. This was a promise that was still in place when this government was re-elected in 2022.

There is no justifiable reason to build on these protected lands. There are options and other ways to increase the supply of homes that are affordable and are nearer to urban centres and transit.

Thank you.