I believe it is premature to…

I believe it is premature to change this Act as it has not been proven that the changes will result in more homes being built faster. As well it has not been proven that residential development in the greenbelt is superior to development elsewhere either in in terms of being built more quickly than elsewhere or in terms of environmental outcomes.
Let me repeat, Greenbelt locations have not been proven to be the the best locations for new growth.
It has not been proven that population growth is sustainable either environmentally or financially, based on the growth targets of the Places to Grow documents that seem to be the basis for this and other growth that I have been witnessing.
The basis for the growth plan was questioned in the 2004-2005 report by the Environmental Commissioner in the section titled Limits to Growth.
The Growth Plan has not been effective at stopping sprawl.
The Neptis Foundation has provided evidence that there have been flaws in the plan as it has gone forward.
Evidence by the Strong Towns group has shown that the type of growth I have seen since the inception the Growth Plan are not financially sustainable.
Costs of Community Services studies have shown that residential development does not necessarily contribute to fiscal sustainability.
The necessity of preserving farmland and environmentally sensitive areas has increased as climate change makes severe weather events more common. Wetlands mitigate flooding. Adequate widespread farmland mitigates the effect of localized drought. Farmland and wetlands are more helpful than the hope that residential growth in the Greenbelt will help the homeless or the generation of children who are leaving Ontario because they think they will not be able to raise a family in their own homes or affordable apartments.
This proposed radical change to the Greenbelt needs thorough scrutiny by the Financial Accountability Office to ensure that the reasons for taking land from the greenbelt are justified. This should be done before any changes to legislation moves forward.
The Auditor General should be requested to investigate whether the growth that we have experienced since the Growth Plan was initiated has actually been successful in any way.
If it is true that we need more homes built faster, we need reliable information from trusted entities in order to understand if the failure of housing to keep pace with growth is due to:
1. policies of particular levels of government,
2. philosophical assumptions,
3, market failure,
4, disinformation,
5. other factors.
Is there adequate competition in the housing industry to keep the process efficient?
Is land speculation adding too much to the cost of new housing?
Is it realistic to hope that accepting targets for more growth in the greenbelt or elsewhere will resolve the lack of housing caused by past population growth targets?
In the current environmental crisis, there is not good evidence that Ontario is planning well for growth in the Greenbelt or any where else.