I am extremely concerned…

I am extremely concerned about the protection of the Duffins Rouge Agricultural preserve. In this time of climate change and local food crisis, we have to protect this Class 1 farmland, adjacent to the Rouge park, and rich in wetlands, creeks and ecological diversity.
The DRAP previously had 4 layers of protection:
The Greenbelt, the DRAP Act with its easements, the Central Pickering Development Plan and MZO 154/03.

This Bill does not restore all the levels of protection: The CPDP and MZO are not proposed to be reinstated and need to be. Otherwise, parts of the DRAP will start to be developed and we will quickly lose this precious ecological and agricultural asset. Pickering and Durham must also be prevented from reducing the reinstated protections of the Greenbelt and especially the DRAP. Their planning docs that impact the DRAP must not be approved or considered. The reinstated Greenbelt protections must have stronger protections from all governments, municipalities, Regions and developers.

Also, as part of the Greenbelt Bulldoze process, Conservation Authorities' authority was removed. The government need to return and strengthen their ability to protect our environment. We need laws and regulations to protect our environment and make these Authorities accountable and operationally functional. Some are just rubber stamping revenue generating authorities while others do try to protect the environment. We need the previous Conservation Authority acts/legislation returned and improved.