I am fiercely opposed to…

I am fiercely opposed to the Ontario government’s plan to open up protected land on the Greenbelt for development.

Until quite recently, wanted us to believe you were too. Just last year, you said: “We’re not going to entertain any conversations about a land swap” on the Greenbelt.

We don’t have to choose between protecting the environment and building the housing we desperately need. Your own Housing Affordability Task Force made it very clear that the housing crisis is not caused by a lack of land to build on.

Planning experts in Ontario and around the world are unanimous: urban sprawl is an environmental and economic disaster. We need to build homes where people want to live – near jobs, transit, shops and entertainment, where they can work and play without the long, soul-crushing commutes that steal their time with loved ones.

The Greenbelt creates almost $10 billion in economic activity and supports over 177,000 local-full time equivalent jobs. It is also vital to our province’s food security.

I urge you to withdraw the plan to open up the Greenbelt to sprawl development. There are far better solutions to the housing crisis – and future generations will thank us for preserving this precious legacy.