While I am pleased the lands…

While I am pleased the lands removed from the Greenbelt will be restored, as well as the addition of lands which were proposed in the land swap, I have concerns with the legislation itself.

I am most concerned that a majority government could use their majority, and/or MZO's in some way to again remove or redesignate/rezone Greenbelt land. Perhaps this recent experience has jaded my belief that the government will not remove any land from the Greenbelt. Legislation must be strengthened to provide absolute assurances to ensure future protection. As it is, it says that it could be changed, albeit through some kind of open and transparent process, and I am very skeptical of that.

While the legislation restores land to the Greenbelt, it does not explain why Greenbelt land can still be removed to build Hwy 413. The proposed 413 Hwy runs right through protected Greenbelt areas as does the Bradford By-Pass. Clearly Greenbelt land is still being threatened.

I am also concerned that there is somehow implied legal protection afforded to anyone possibly engaged in the recent Greenbelt scandal. If a wrong has been committed, particularly by this government and the real estate developers allegedly involved, then the full application of the law must be brought forward.

Finally, I would like to have seen included in this bill, a restoring of the role of Conservation Authorities. They are important agents in ensuring water, rivers and wetlands which support the Greenbelt, and elsewhere, are protected. The recent Ontario Wetlands Assessment Criteria has been changed to redefine "significant" wetlands, thus making it easier for development to take place.

Intensification of housing must take place in responsibly determined urban areas. Surely we have reached a point in our understanding of the inter-relationship of environment, and of the implications of climate change, that we should be working to expand protection of the Greenbelt and other natural areas. This legislation does not go far enough to ensure that.