Doug Ford made a promise…

Doug Ford made a promise during the election campaign that he would not make any changes to the greenbelt, yet little over a year later his government is bringing forward this proposal. While it is not surprising, it does show how disingenuous Doug Ford is, and how little he respects the people of Ontario.

Looking at the available maps, it is also embarrassing the lack of detail offered to the public in order to make a decision. Missing from the maps are basic information such as the location of rivers and forests which are planned to be destroyed, as well as municipal roads and neighborhood which can easily be found on Google maps. In order to properly evaluate the proposal, I found myself comparing government created maps to Google in order to accurately assess what land will be reclassified. Information which I was unable to find includes the presence or absence of over 240 endangered species in Ontario which the greenbelt was established in order to protect. This alone should pause any future development of the Greenbelt until a proper assessment of the regions can be done to determine what effect the shifting of Greenbelt boundaries may have on these species.

The removal of greenbelt land in Pickering south of highway 407 (map 6) and the land located in Ajax by Kingston road (map 7) is especially concerning, as it severely limits the only wildlife corridors within the GTA connecting Lake Ontario to wild land further north. The loss of this land will severely limit the movement of species between the lakefront ecosystem and other ecosystems further north and may have untold effects to species which spend a portion of their life cycle near or within Lake Ontario.

Unfortunately, I do not have faith that the Government of Ontario has taken the time to properly consider the worries I have outlined, and I also doubt that my comment will make a difference in the decision which the provincial conservatives will make with their majority government. However, I feel like it is important that I voice my concerns so that others can understand the irreversible harm that Doug Ford and his government are causing to the province of Ontario.