I live in a community that…

I live in a community that is right next to part of the Greenbelt and the Oak Ridges Moraine, so, I like many other people in this province were utterly dismayed to find out that the provincial government is (again) saying that it wants to allow development within the Greenbelt - the very same government that swore, more than once including as recently as just last year, that they would not open up the Greenbelt to any kind of development because it was made clear to them that the people of Ontario did not want that happening. Our opinions haven't changed, and we are not so fickle as to have forgotten them, despite what this government, and in particular the premier seems to believe.

Not only is the Greenbelt an area of exceptional natural beauty that the people of this province love, but it also serves many more practical purposes, including providing an important supply of safe, clean drinking water for about half province's population, protecting farmland (that makes up 40% of the Greenbelt and provides plenty of locally grown produce) which vitally needs to be protected more than ever as supply chains become increasingly unstable due climate change, helping to mitigate damage associated with flooding due to severe weather events (that are also becoming a lot more common) by intercepting and absorbing excess water into tree roots, soil, wetlands, and grasslands, absorbing carbon dioxide, and protecting many endangered species that are vital components of our natural environment and therefore our world.

The people of Ontario do not want the Greenbelt to be opened up to and threatened by developers. There are myriad of other, safer and more effective ways in which to build housing to accommodate population growth, and that is by building within much of existing urban boundaries, which is also far more affordable than any further sprawl that could be built within the protected Greenbelt area. And the provincial government should allow municipalities like Hamilton, to plan the development of their own communities as their residents wish them to do so.

Hopefully, this government will withdraw this proposal and actually commit to protecting the Greenbelt area.