Growing the Greenbelt-ERO …

Growing the Greenbelt-ERO #019-3136 - My Submission #3 - April.15.2021

(Corrected and Updated on April.16.2021 to remove any names of persons)

Sent to: greenbeltconsultation@ontario.ca and ERO #019-3136 submission

My submission #3 to the ERO 019-3136 consultation on Growing the Greenbelt is made to bring your attention to recommended Niagara Escarpment expansion areas that should also be seriously considered in additions to the Greenbelt.

Four NE expansion areas, that are now discussed in this submission, were already included in Niagara Escarpment comments and recommendations sent to MMAH and MNRF for the previous Coordinated Land Use Planning Review (NE report of Nov. 17, 2016) and for the previous Growing the Greenbelt Consultation (NE report of Feb. 15, 2018). Here are particulars on the NE expansion areas.

The four NE expansion areas are important ecological areas adjacent to the Niagara Escarpment Plan (NEP) that should be added to the Plan and the Greenbelt to ensure stronger protection & stewardship of our provincially significant Niagara Escarpment. These four areas are identified on the updated Bluebelt-Greenbelt Map in Appendix 1 as Niagara Escarpment Expansion Areas (shown in yellow shading) and include the following:

1. Barrier, Hay, Griffiths and White Cloud Islands in Georgian Bay (Bruce County)
2. Keppel Scarplands to Beach Shorelands in Township of Georgian Bluffs (Grey County)
3. Lower Bighead & Beaver River Valleylands above Meaford & Thornbury (Grey County)
4. Creemore Outlier & Gibraltar Moraine in Clearview Township (Simcoe County)

The Context for Consultation, notes the Greenbelt is a broad band of protected land that:
 Protects against the continued loss and fragmentation of the agricultural land base and supports farming as the predominant rural land use
 Gives protection to the natural heritage and water resource systems that sustain ecological and human health and that form the environmental framework around which major urbanization in south-central Ontario will be organized
 Provides for a diverse range of economic and social activities associated with rural communities, agriculture, tourism, recreation and resource uses
 Builds resilience to and mitigates the impact of climate change
 Allows critical new infrastructure and upgrades to existing infrastructure needed to serve the substantial growth projected for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH), to be permitted under strong environmental conditions

Lands to be considered for addition must support the Greenbelt Plan’s objectives, vision and goals of providing permanent protection to the agricultural land base and to the ecological and hydrological features, areas and functions in this landscape.

Ontario’s Greenbelt is meant to be a continuous broad band of permanently protected land. Expansions must build upon the systems approach of the Greenbelt Plan and should have a strong functional connection that supports the Greenbelt’s natural heritage, water resource or agricultural systems. The four NE expansion areas in this submission satisfy and support the stated context and principles for Growing the Greenbelt.

As a further general comment, it is noted that the Greenbelt already includes the Lake Simcoe Watershed and Oak Ridges Moraine in small portions of the City of Kawartha Lakes, County of Peterborough, and County of Northumberland. You will receive ERO 019-3136 submission from community groups that speak to new opportunities to expand the Greenbelt to include associated farmlands, forests, moraines, wetlands and watersheds to the east of Lake Simcoe in the Kawartha, Northumberland and Peterborough regions.

These other candidate areas include the ancient Lake Iroquois Shoreline and Plain, major river valleys flowing north from the east end of the Oak Ridges Moraine and associated bogs, lakes, swamps, drumlins, eskers and moraines. The major rivers are the Scugog, Pigeon, Fleetwood, Otonabee, Indian and related parts of the Trent River watershed. These important headwaters contribute to downstream watershed health for Lake Simcoe and to the Greenbelt in the GGH. Hence, they are also worthy of consideration in Growing the Greenbelt.

I urge the Government to fully embrace this timely opportunity to improve and safeguard our ecological excellence and regional resilience by Growing the Greenbelt in the Ontario Niagara Escarpment and in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH).

Respectfully submitted,

Ontario Citizen, Farmer, Greenbelt Resident and Taxpayer

Appendix 1 - GREENBELT EXPANSION AREAS MAP

(Extract from Ontario Nature Blog and protectourwaters.ca – February 18, 2018)

Niagara Escarpment Expansion Areas (shown in yellow shading) include the following:

1. Barrier, Hay, Griffiths and White Cloud Islands in Georgian Bay (Bruce County)
2. Keppel Scarplands to Beach Shorelands in Township of Georgian Bluffs (Grey County)
3. Lower Bighead & Beaver River Valleylands above Meaford & Thornbury (Grey County)
4. Creemore Outlier & Gibraltar Moraine in Clearview Township (Simcoe County)

Copy of Appendix 1 for this submission is posted/uploaded in section for supporting documents