Submission on ERO 019-7739:…

Submission on ERO 019-7739:
Proposal to Return Lands to the Greenbelt
Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023

I am writing in support of the proposal to return land to the Greenbelt (Bill136-Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023). Unfortunately, many government actions over the past few years, under the guise of removing red tape, will result in future watershed disasters, loss of prime agricultural lands, climate change challenges and biodiversity loss.
Consequently I am requesting the following amendments to the final version of the legislation.

1) Legislate that in the 10-year Greenbelt review, any amendments to boundaries can only add lands to the Greenbelt with no possibility for land removals or land swaps.

2) Prohibit new “Overall Benefit Permits”. “Pay to Slay” that enables habitat destruction of Species at Risk in the Greenbelt must be illegal.

3) Prohibit the licensing of new aggregate extraction applications in the Greenbelt.

4) Immediately end the grandfathering of previous zoning for future planning applications within the Greenbelt.

5) Protect all prime agricultural lands in the Greenbelt through conservation easements to ensure speculators are dissuaded from purchasing protected agricultural lands in the Greenbelt.

6) Amend the Greenbelt legislation so that future governments are compelled to consult meaningfully with First Nations and Indigenous communities.

7) Land use and watershed planning must be treated as one. All aspects of land use and watershed planning must be re-focused by revoking Bill 23 in a manner that restores the traditional mandate of conservation authorities and the previous protocols in the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System.