I hope this comment is in…

Numéro du REO

019-4483

Identifiant (ID) du commentaire

60917

Commentaire fait au nom

Individual

Statut du commentaire

Commentaire

I hope this comment is in the right place. I am finding it confusing to sort through the three separate, but overlapping, consultations. My comments below relate to expanding the Greenbelt. If I have the wrong number, can you please move it to the right ERO number?

* We need more moraines to be added to the Greenbelt.
The Paris Galt Moraine ought to have been added.
Moraines are especially important to me because they store, cool and clean water, and I rely on groundwater for my drinking water needs. This is REALLY IMPORTANT to me.

* We need more cold water streams and wetlands. Again, because I rely on groundwater for my drinking water, wetlands are very important for their water filtration, nutrient cycling, groundwater recharge functions.. They also provide flood and erosion control, carbon storage. And they shelter wildlife and provide great recreational opportunities.
Too many wetlands and cold water streams have already been lost. We can't afford to lose any more.

* Add headwater areas, especially the headwater areas of the Humber, Don and Rouge Rivers, and Duffins and Carruthers Creeks. Headwaters are very important influences on water quality throughout the river system. It's especially important to protect the headwaters named above because they are targeted for urban development, which will destroy them. Especially with the weakened environmental protection measures Ontario has recently enacted.

* Add the former Glacial Lake Algonquin and Iroquois Shorelines and Plain -- The shorelines of these former lakes are locally and regionally significant groundwater discharge zones, forming the headwaters of the coldwater streams in those areas.
The Lake Iroquois Plain is home to 57 species at risk, has some of the largest and most extensive coastal wetlands in southern Ontario, and provides vital habitat for numerous bird species during migration.

* Add the Lake Simcoe basin and northern Simcoe County. Many important hydrologic features in Simcoe County are vulnerable to land speculation and intensive development pressures.
The point of designating a Greenbelt is to protect ecosystems against the destruction which inevitably accompanies urban development.
Ontario is big enough for both cities and clean water. It's a matter of planning where to put things.

This isn't about adding to the Greenbelt: my next comment is about protecting what we have.
Do not allow the Bradford Bypass, Highway 413 and Highway 404 extension to be built.