There is already a 30-year…

There is already a 30-year supply of land for housing in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, so there is NO need to remove any lands from the Greenbelt, which was envisioned to remain PERMANENTLY PROTECTED.

If you really want the public’s feedback on the Greenbelt, put the entire matter to a politically-binding public referendum.

Leave the existing Greenbelt Plan in place and do NOT remove any lands from the Greenbelt; however, the addition of 13 river valleys to the existing Greenbelt has long been discussed as the Bluebelt.

The existing Greenbelt should be expanded through the addition of the river valleys and the Paris-Galt Moraine. The Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve must also remain intact. Ontario has already lost far too much farmland, while agricultural lands continue to dwindle

The Ontario Farmland Trust reports:

“The total acreage of farmland in Ontario decreased from 12,348,463 in 2016 to 11,766,071 in 2021, averaging out to a decrease of approximately 319 acres of farmland lost per day during this time period. This rate of loss is almost double the 175 acres of farmland lost per day that was reported in the 2016 Census of Agriculture.

The number of farms reporting to the Census in Ontario also decreased by over one thousand in this same time period, declining from 49,600 to 48,346.”

According to the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, “In 2019, Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food sector, from field to fork, contributed $47.28 billion to Ontario’s economy and supported 860,494 jobs. Decision makers must never lose sight of this reality when making decisions about future agricultural land loss to development for population and employment growth.”

Thanks to Ontario’s farmers, Ontarians were better fed and supplied with enough food during the pandemic, compared to other nations.

Only a fool would remove agricultural lands and supplant them with an ever-growing human population.

The Greenbelt also provides many ecological services to native species and humans alike.
If Ontario is building 1.5-million homes for between 4.5 and 6.0 million new people, then it will need all the existing farmland to feed those millions of new mouths. Ontario will also have to beef up every service from education to healthcare, from libraries to parks, to serve so many newcomers. All will occupy a land base that is not growing. Ontario’s landscape is finite, so it is becoming increasingly congested, while being transformed rapidly and unsustainably.

One wonders how the provincial government came up with so many detailed maps for lands to be withdrawn from the Greenbelt within such a short time after Minister Steve Clark’s announcement. The public needs to know who prepared all those maps and when.

It is also interesting to note how many developers bought lands within the Greenbelt before the Housing Minister's announcement, so it appears those developers have reaped their rewards. It does make one wonder if they might have benefitted from ‘insider knowledge’, since they seem to have such a close relationship to this government. One might even begin to wonder about other unsavoury possibilities. Consequently, a review of Quebec’s Charbonneau Commission’s investigation into the dealings between that province’s construction industry and its cozy political connections could provide a very good template for a similar investigation here in Ontario.

There were two recent newspaper accounts about this sudden decision to open up the Greenbelt, after Premier and Housing Minister promised never to touch the Greenbelt during their first term in government from 2018 to 2022.

https://www.thespec.com/ts/news/investigations/2022/11/17/they-recently…

https://www.thestar.com/ths/news/hamilton-region/2022/11/17/who-owns-la…

Suddenly, the Conservative government announced it must open up the Greenbelt to development after its second term began. There has been NO pressure from the public to do so, so is this a sop to developers?

There were NO public consultations of any kind regarding the Greenbelt or any other matter; yet it is our tax dollars that fill the treasuries at every level of government. This is a clear example of “taxation without representation”, a feature common to undemocratic and autocratic governments. Russia, China … Ontario?

It seems clear under whose influence the Conservatives are operating, but that is not what this government was re-elected to do, not even by the 18% of eligible voters who did bother to vote for them.

That means the remaining 25% of eligible voters did not vote for the Conservatives, while 57% of eligible voters didn’t see any point in casting a ballot, and they stayed home.

This government does NOT have a mandate to make ANY changes to the Greenbelt, nor the ORMCP.

It was interesting to see the Editorial Board at Storeys Real Estate News selected the Premier for the top spot In its November 2022 article about the top ‘22 Most Influential in Ontario Real Estate for this year, at:

https://storeys.com/most-influential-ontario-real-estate-2022/

Storeys Editorial Board wrote:

“Premier of Ontario

'Cause folks, he wields a lot of power... that we gave him.

Folks, how could Ford not make this list? From releasing an onslaught of MZOs to developer friends continuously finding themselves in all the right places, the “Life is a Highway” premier has made himself as familiar in GTA real estate politics as the affordable housing crisis.

With a recent election win under his belt, Ford has never been as motivated or as seemingly mandated as he is right now. What that means for the future of Toronto’s real estate community is likely more of the same: if he so chooses, it’s going to be Doug’s way or the (new, expensive) highway.”

When Storeys noted the ‘Life is a Highway’ Premier wields a lot of power … that we gave him”, shouldn’t the journal clarify WHO the “we” is, who gave him the power? This accolade simply oozes with “developer friends continuously finding themselves in all the right place.”

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the public, lower tiers of government, nor beleaguered taxpayers.

Time for this government to consult the public. It does not have all the answers, nor is it supposed to wield its powers as a sledge hammer against the public interest.