I refuse to accept that…

I refuse to accept that ruining the Greenbelt is the one way forward to providing the homes needed to accommodate new immigrants coming to the GTA. Like most other people commenting, I can say that the Greenbelt forms an essential part of who we are as Torontonians and Ontarians. The Greenbelt feeds us through farming; it provides a home to various wildlife, some threatened or endangered; it prevents excessive flooding downstream by attenuating floodwaters, it provides much of our clean drinking water, and it provides a welcome haven and rest for families. Many have discovered this just recently during the pandemic.
Building NEW CITIES with new amenities is the answer, not stuffing Toronto full and ruining part of what makes it great. Build on area where the highway already reaches: along the 400 and up into the Canadian Shield, where farming is not possible in any case.
Ruining this Greenbelt haven seems like the worst move this government could make. Excessive flooding following the decision to open it up for development would make this government liable to many for their damages, as no one would expect insurance to pick it up. The government has certainly been well and truly warned about this and Ontario's people including the party's own constituency would feel the effects terribly. The many recommendations that come from educated people including planners, health experts, food producers and so forth have been demonstrably ignored by the government.
In the medium to longer term it is expected that the GTA will be generally somewhat warmer and, significantly, rainier than it used to be because of climate change (future climate data in link). Given that BC and the Prairies are predicted to become hotter and drier, turning into dustbowls, Ontario would very much benefit itself and the country by preserving its farmland rather than paving over it. In future we may be one of the only places where food would dependably grow in this country.
None of my comment yet addresses the fact that this whole deal looks like a major conflict of interest. Purchases of land by developers in September, weeks before the government announces this, demonstrably taking back one of its major promises? Building the 413, which will also coincidentally reach the areas recently bought by developers? Ha, let's make Ontarians pay for our developer friends to get richer. Ontarians are apparently expected to lose the Greenbelt quality and simultaneously pay for the 413 so that developers get richer. It's appalling and should be stopped until a solid inquiry is held into what exactly is going on here.
The homes that the developers will build will be 5000 sq ft plus on one-acre parcels and be sold for $5 million plus. TELL ME HOW THIS SOLVES ANY KIND OF HOUSING CRISIS WHATSOEVER. I have been respectful here. I expect the same from my duly-elected government. Thank you.