I am a 24 year-old living…

I am a 24 year-old living and working in the City of Toronto. I am a first generation immigrant, brought to Canada by parents who dreamed of a better life for their children. In a lot of ways, I am the future. And I have high stakes in the development of our province, given that my generation will inherit this land.

My comment is this: Redesignating Greenbelt lands for developers to build more homes and with less oversight is not "responsible growth".

First, the value of existing Greenbelt land is more than just its size; we have chosen to protect these specific lands because they formed (and still are) a vital part of our local food, recreation, and tourism industries. Opening up this land for development not only is a loss for our local industries, it sets a precedent that signals to Greenbelt communities, developers, and local governments that Greenbelt land protections could be overridden at anytime. Removing the existing 7,400 acres and adding another 7,400 acres elsewhere is not a 1:1 trade—this ignores the fundamental importance of the existing land, both from a social and economical standpoint.

Second, the existing Greenbelt is comprised of uninterrupted stretches of land, which hosts vital ecosystems that support a wild variety of native plants and animals. Removing the sections proposed in this amendment will result in disruption to the surrounding parcels, reducing the overall synergistic effect of existing protected lands.

Lastly, existing Greenbelt lands protect the vital farmlands, forests, and watersheds around the GTA from urban sprawl. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, urban sprawl "has been correlated with increased energy use, pollution, and traffic congestion". Building homes on existing protected lands not only wreaks havoc in sensitive woodland and wetland ecosystems, it undermines our ability to respond to climate disasters. The select few homeowners who are able to afford these homes will be forced to into a car dependent lifestyle, which is a key systemic contributor to emissions. The cost of maintaining suburban infrastructure has also proven to be much higher, due to the relative low population density compared to urban centres. It's a poor return on investment, given that we are losing ecologically vital land to build housing that will only cost us more in the long run.

In an age where floods, heat waves, and super storms are increasingly common, the Province of Ontario has a duty to plan and build housing that can sustainably house its citizens, both from an environmental and fiscal perspective. Exisiting Greenbelt land should be untouched, and new housing builds should focus on densifying and enriching our existing cities, where people actually want to live. Affordable housing is not limited by the existence of the Greenbelt—it's limited by municipal zoning and development policies that make building housing in exisiting cities expensive.