Dear Minister Mauro,…

Dear Minister Mauro,

I fully support the These lands had been protected since 1948 as a nature reserve. These lands were specifically purchased in 1977 to protect them from development. Now the public has had to file an expensive OMB appeal to try and protect conservation land paid for with public money. I worry that the GRCA and the City will continue to look for other parks and conservation land within the city to sell off as the city fills out to its current boundaries as they are committed by 2020 to consider the future use and ownership of other GRCA owned lands within the City of Guelph. Therefore It is my belief that the all public park land and conservation areas within municipalities should be designated as part of the greenbelt in order to protect them for us and future generations as the only way to guarantee that these lands will be protected for future generations. The GRCA claims that their lands are privately owned. Which is true under the current Public lands Act but this act should be revised in order to prevent the sell off of conservation lands in order to raise money. I know that in the case of the Hanlon Creek Conservation Area that over 750 acres were acquired with public money. 40% came from the City of Guelph taxpayers, 50 % came from the MNR the GRCA paid 10%. Guelph is now the third fastest growing city in Canada and we cannot afford to lose any green space. The temptation to sell off parks land for redevelopment in order to meet municipal and GRCA funding shortfalls is too great to ignore. So please consider my comments.

I support the following comments from the Wellington Water Watchers:

Water is our most precious resource. We are pleased the government is taking this important step to protect the water systems we all depend on.

Protecting these lands from urban development is particularly important for communities and farms that rely heavily on groundwater supplies such as Guelph-Wellington and the communities of the Grand River watershed. The only alternative – building costly infrastructure to pipe in water from the Great Lakes – will only increase pressure to sprawl outside already built-up areas, paving over areas important for preventing flooding, recharging underground aquifers and farming.

The health of a series of headwaters, moraines, wetlands, aquifers and recharge lands that ring the current Greenbelt, are experiencing a range of ongoing threats and impacts from development.

Inappropriate growth will incur economic costs for taxpayers and municipalities exceed the watershed’s capacity to assimilate waste, and may threaten farmers’ irrigation sources and lead to local species extinctions.

While we support the government’s current proposal to protect more of the region’s water supply, a larger “Bluebelt” proposed by over 120 community groups would protect drinking water supplies for 1.25 million residents, a number forecasted to increase to 2 million by 2041. We urge you to consider these lands in your expansion.

I am one of Nine in ten Ontarians say growing the Greenbelt is important to protect water, farmland, and natural habitats from sprawl. The region must accommodate an estimated 4 million more residents by 2041 without increasing pressure on vulnerable water supplies, and in so doing undermining our health and prosperity. Stronger provincial protection to ensure growth pressures, drought and climate change do not endanger water supplies in the future will safeguard local farm, tourism and wildlife, well into the future.

Permanently protecting farmland, water supplies and air-purifying forests from sprawl, the positive impacts of the Greenbelt will only become more important over time. As our region continues to grow rapidly, the Greenbelt maintains a healthy, world-class quality of life and prosperous economy. The looming realities of climate change only magnify the Greenbelt’s importance and underline the urgency to act and expand its reach.

Please include the Paris-Galt moraine, the Orangeville moraine and the significant weltands and recharge areas along with river corridors of Guelph-Wellington, and of the Grand River watershed as part of the expanded "Bluebelt".

[Original Comment ID: 213579]