Firstly, I am writing to…

Firstly, I am writing to state my opposition to the proposal to remove 7,400 acres of land from the Greenbelt, which was revealed on November 04.

The proposal claims that the lands removed will be "replaced" by adding land to the Greenbelt. However, much of the land that will supposedly be added is already protected. And, even if it weren’t already protected, the very possibility of "swapping out" the plots of land targeted for development destroys the permanence and certainty required for any part of the Greenbelt to function properly.

By permanently setting aside land for farming and natural heritage, the Greenbelt protects land from the intense speculation and development pressure in Southern Ontario. Without this permanent protection, agricultural land would quickly become completely unaffordable to farmers. For land where farmers are tenants, the absence of reliable long-term tenure will make it commercially inviable to use anything other than destructive cash-cropping methods. Even raising the possibility of removing any land from the Greenbelt will create a speculative rush and intense development pressure on all the lands currently within the Greenbelt.

Currently, there is a vast supply of unused greenfield land already open for development within existing municipal boundaries (350 square kilometers as of 2019) and the current round of Official Plans awaiting approval will add 42,000 additional hectares of non-Greenbelt land to that vast stockpile.

Given that we have an extreme shortage of homes in existing neighborhoods, and a long term shortage of materials, equipment and skilled labour, squandering our resources on resource -intensive Greenbelt sprawl will mean fewer homes in the places where they're desperately needed.

Not only is this proposal bad for the health of our province and unlikely to produce any additional housing, it goes against the Premier’s word and it goes against Minister Steve Clarke’s assertion that “we’re not going to entertain any conversations about a land swap” on the Greenbelt.

In addition to my concerns about the Greenbelt, I am deeply concerned about many of the components of Bill 23 and its associated policy proposals.

Bill 23 prohibits Conservation Authorities from doing anything to prevent sprawl from causing flooding and erosion – or destroying ecology. It would leave vast swathes of Ontario’s most important habitats largely unprotected – and put Ontarians at real risk.

Proposed policy to allow “pay to slay” destruction of currently protected wetlands and woodlands, and changes to the rules that are used to identify wetlands, will cause the majority of these rare and ecologically crucial areas to be opened to development.

This Bill’s attack on regional planning is counterproductive for creating affordable homes – as well as being environmentally disastrous. Devolving planning decisions to lower-tier municipalities would produce development that is more scattered and thus much more environmentally harmful, but also more uncoordinated and expensive.

The draft bill also attacks Green Buildings. This bill will take the authority to require green buildings from municipalities – undoing many municipal Green Building standards that have already been developed – and undermine the affordability benefits that energy-efficient, climate-resilient buildings provide to owners and tenants.

Unless the major flaws in Bill 23 are addressed it will further the destruction of critical natural areas in a time of climate crisis while also failing to deliver the urban transformation – or the affordable housing – that Ontario needs.

In conclusion, please desist from removing any lands from the Greenbelt – even if they are replaced by other lands in other areas– and revise or cancel Bill 23.