Dear Committee, As a…

Dear Committee,

As a resident of Ontario, I have concerns with the proposed changes stated in your Plan.
I believe that this Plan will have negative consequences for the Ontario environment as well as the residents in the long term.

First of all, I don't believe that swapping one patch of Greenbelt and adding another makes sense as each location's ecosystem is unique -- once it is gone, it is gone. Depending on the location of the land proposed for removal, this move could also negatively affect the ecosystem of the adjacent areas. Given the impact of the climate change and the financial fallout from environmental disasters, we need to be very cautious in what we do, so we do not have to pay in the future.

One of my concerns is tied with some of the aspects of Bill 23 and the recent findings from Auditor General of Ontario. Through Bill 23 some of the Conservation Authorities' powers have been limited. I believe this particular aspect coupled with this proposal will negatively impact Ontario in the future since reduction of the Conservation Authorities' powers could yield in poor mitigation of potential environmental hazards. Transferring the responsibility of the environmental overview onto over 400 different municipalities seems inefficient, since Conservation Authorities assist multiple municipalities simultaneously, making the process more cohesive ("Worries for wetlands as Ontario aims to build homes quickly", CBC) [1] [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/more-homes-built-faster-act-conse…]. Moreover, the most recent report from the Auditor General's report stated that the Ontario government's support into flood management has not been adequate. ("2022 Annual Report", Office of The Auditor General of Ontario)[2] [https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/annualreports/arbyyear/ar2022.html]. Both of these points make me believe that the proposed change to Greenbelt will lead to negative unintended consequences simply due to the fact that the government has failed to develop and implement proper environmental protections, and instead of doing so, it has cut them.

The other aspect of my criticism is tied to two things -- the findings from Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force (2022) and recent findings by the media about developers connected to some portions of Greenbelt that have been proposed to be released. According the Task Force report, Ontario has land "available, both inside the existing built-up areas and on undeveloped land outside greenbelt" (p.10) [3] [https://files.ontario.ca/mmah-housing-affordability-task-force-report-e…], which means that there is no need to touch the Greenbelt. If the province's own Task Force has looked at the issue and has determined that building on the Greenbelt is not necessary to solve the housing crisis, then why is the government doing so? This leads to my next point. Over the last couple of weeks, there have been multiple media reports that certain wealthy developers would be benefiting from the proposed Greenbelt land swaps ("Six developers bought Greenbelt land after Ford came to power. Now, they stand to profit", The Narwal & Toronto Star) [4] [https://thenarwhal.ca/ford-ontario-greenbelt-cuts-developers/]. Some of those developers have made donations to the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and its politicians ("Prominent developer family linked to more Greenbelt properties slated for housing", CBC) [5] [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/developer-greenbelt-additional-p…]. All of these findings seem to suggest that the proposed changes to the Greenbelt are more helpful to the wealthy developers, rather than help the residents of Ontario obtain housing they need.

In conclusion, I believe the proposed Plan is not done for the benefit of Ontarians. I would urge the government to reconsider its decision and propose a more environmentally conscious plan instead that protect the Greenbelt. Please look into other avenues to solve the housing situation in Ontario, such as limiting the ability of multi-property owners to buy extra housing for their own profits; working with municipalities on creating a fair “as of right” zoning to allow various types of housing to be built in the municipality while trying to avoid the urban sprawl as much as possible; and looking at existing properties that are no longer in use/ abandoned and trying to reuse them. ("Ontario's Housing Crisis: Causes and Solutions", University of Toronto School of Cities; " Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force").
Thank you for your time.