Good evening, I am writing…

Good evening,
I am writing to express concern about the proposed amendments to the Greenbelt Plan (ERO 019-6216). Though I agree that there is a pressing need to address the housing crisis in Ontario and I strongly support the addition of the Paris Galt Morraine to the Greenbelt, I do not believe the proposed land use changes to the Greenbelt adequately address this issue.

Removing any land from the Greenbelt will weaken our province's food security and ecological integrity. The lands set aside for conservation in the Greenbelt provide essential ecosystem services such as flooding prevention, carbon capture, and drinking water protection, as well as arable land. Protecting these assets is critically important to building our province's resilience to the climate crisis.

Building homes in the Greenbelt will contribute to worsening the climate crisis and increasing pollution by creating sprawled-out communities that will require long commutes by car to reach jobs and services that only exist in the major urban centers. I urge the government to explore solutions involving increasing density in urban areas and regulating the purchase of properties solely for investment purposes.

These proposed changes to the Greenbelt would set a dangerous precedent for stripping away environmental protections in our province. Furthermore, expanding the urban boundary of Hamilton in particular sets a disturbing precedent for undermining decisions made by municipal governments with the support of their constituents, who clearly expressed a will to limit urban sprawl in their city.

Given these issues, it is imperative the province keep the promise it made to the people of Ontario and pursue a different approach to increasing the housing supply.