It’s truly devastating to…

It’s truly devastating to see that this is something being proposed right now. The last thing this world needs is more protected land getting destroyed and developed for profit. There is more than enough space currently not in use to figure out a way to build more housing for Ontario citizens. There are plenty of empty schools, malls, office buildings, and run down homes that can be renovated and/repurposed to provide homes for our citizens. There is absolutely no need to destroy what makes our province and country beautiful. We have to protect our land and use what is currently at our disposal - be creative with what we have to maintain the integrity of our country as a whole. The Greenbelt is an integral part of our ecosystem and messing with it will cause irreparable damage throughout more than just our province. There are planners out there that have brilliant ideas on keeping our space as green as possible while also allowing for our province to grow and house everyone that lives here. There have been so many businesses shutting down because of Covid leaving buildings sitting empty with owners desperately trying to find tenants to fill their spaces. Why not propose the land owners a grant, for example, to renovate their spaces specifically into low income units if they can finish those conversions by 2025? Citizens on long term disability cannot afford market rent right now. Is there not a way to allocate more funds to those individuals so they can afford the homes that are sitting empty because of the current price of rent? We could also bring back the rental increase freeze until 2025. This would help mitigate costs of those on the verge of losing their homes due to not being able to afford their rent for much longer. There are plenty of spaces out there waiting for the opportunity to be converted to good use. There are countless inhabitable homes and apartments but the problem extends far beyond just the physical space it takes to house the 1.5 million people that are being projected. Land owners are watching their investment properties get destroyed in front of their eyes and are unable to do anything about it because when the police are called, these people are not properly held accountable, they are released far too quickly and go back out and do it again the next day. Owners can’t keep dishing out tens of thousands of dollars into this vicious cycle so they keep their places empty in hopes to sell to the next person and the cycle continues. It’s not just the space that’s needed, it’s reform in many areas of our broken system. It’s not about fixing this as fast as possible. It should be about fixing the foundation of this issue the right way so it doesn’t arise again 5 years from now. It’s time for real, positive change that help our communities thrive, not destroy what little of our beautiful lands we have left.