I am writing to express my…

I am writing to express my strong opposition to your proposal to remove 7,400 acres from the Greenbelt (ERO #019-6216 and #019-6217).

I do not accept the government’s premise that these Greenbelt lands are needed for housing. The amount of greenfield land already designated for development, and added to municipal settlement boundaries, but still sitting unbuilt far exceeds what is needed to meet long range housing targets. As you know, in its 2022 report, Ontario’s Housing Affordability Task Force stated that a shortage of land isn’t the cause of Ontario’s housing problem and that Greenbelts, environmentally sensitive areas and farmland must be protected.

The proposed removal of Greenbelt lands sets an alarming precedent, opening the Greenbelt to development at the request of those who stand to reap immense profits while the rest of us pay the tab. Land swaps put the entire Greenbelt at risk. Most of the lands to be removed from the Greenbelt overlap with the Natural Heritage System, which supports sensitive and significant natural features, and is supposed to be managed by your ministry as a connected and integrated natural heritage system.

The importance of permanently protecting lands and waters within the Greenbelt cannot be overstated. It is key to building the resilience of local food systems, protecting at-risk habitats and species, and sustaining the physical, social and economic health of the nine million Ontarians living in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Not only are we facing the interconnected and accelerating crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, we are also losing 319 acres of farmland daily. The protection of natural and hydrological systems and farmland must be prioritized. They are finite, irreplaceable and invaluable for community and ecosystem health and resilience.

Most of the lands to be removed from the Greenbelt (10 of the 14 areas shown on the maps) overlap with the Natural Heritage System, which supports “the highest concentration of the most sensitive and/or significant natural features and functions” and is meant to be managed “as a connected and integrated natural heritage system, given the functional inter-relationships between them.” (Greenbelt Plan, sec. 3.2.1)

Removing land from the Greenbelt by adding 9,400 acres also isn't fully accurate - some of the proposed replacement lands are already off limits for development (e.g., publicly owned lands designated as municipal parks and open space). Further, these lands were already part of the government’s previous Greenbelt expansion proposals – the Paris-Galt Moraine in 2021 and the Urban River Valleys in 2022. Those proposals went nowhere and we now recognize how these are being used to soften the blow of removing lands from the greenbelt.

For the sake of current and future generations, please abandon your plans to remove 7,400 acres of protected lands from the Greenbelt. Think of the long-term impacts of these choices - cus we are living for the future, not for the profit of the moment.