Proposed Amendment to the…

Proposed Amendment to the Greenbelt Plan ERO number 019-6216
and Boundary Regulation 019-6217and the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan 019-621

The removal of 7,400 acres from 15 different areas of the Greenbelt is a breach of trust by Premier Doug Ford. Mr. Ford, you promised: "The people have spoken. I'm going to listen to them, they don't want me to touch the Greenbelt, we won't touch the Greenbelt."

This was a very important promise – a promise to uphold the vision brought into reality by a previous government, a promise that was necessary because if the Greenbelt is not a permanent land-use feature, its protective function ceases. As soon as it is possible to take land out of the Greenbelt, whether it’s a large chunk or small, for good reason or bad, all decision-making becomes distorted by political influence and the prospect of profit.

That’s why adding 9,400 acres from other areas is no solution at all, particularly if, as is widely reported, much of this land is already protected.

The fact that some landowners will make a fortune from these amendments is deeply offensive.

I believe that the Greenbelt should be expanded. We in Simcoe County suffer a leapfrog effect as developers ignore the development land that exists within the boundaries of Greater Golden Horseshoe municipalities and pursue cheaper farm or natural heritage land. The government’s proposed erosion of residents’ long-established rights to be heard on what happens in their neighbourhood and the proposed dismantling of the precautionary effect of sourcing data and comment from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and Conservation Authorities makes this leapfrog effect all the more threatening. Please expand the Greenbelt into Simcoe County.

The notion that the Greenbelt lands will be suitable for the immigrant populations the Premier says he aim to serve is preposterous. Immigrants need to settle in urban centres where they can find communities of similar culture, services adapted to their needs, employment, good public transportation, affordable rental accommodation and accessible green space. This plan does not serve immigrants, neither does it serve low-income people struggling to find affordable housing.

Chipping pieces out of the Greenbelt, along with other policies introduced in the Bill 23 package, put many species at risk at even higher risk. I am a steward of the land where I live, I owe respect and care to the land, the creatures with which I share it, and the photo-synthesizing trees, grasses and other plants that support all life. This complex web is clearly not of concern to the current government. It is of major concern to me.

These amendments also show that Ontario has no intention of implementing land use policies that seriously address climate change. We need to protect our tragically shrinking agricultural land base against loss and fragmentation, and extend protection of natural heritage and water resource systems that sustain ecological and human health.

As a Canadian citizen I am a party to the treaties signed with First Nations and I object strongly to the Ford government’s failure to consult First Nations on these amendments. They are entitled to proper consultation based on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and on the duty to consult arising from Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

I am embarrassed by the casual and ham-fisted way the Ford government approaches lawmaking. How should it happen? RESEARCH into legal, scientific and administrative implications, PUBLICATION, CONSULTATION, REFLECTION, PROPOSAL, FEEDBACK, DEBATE followed by, if possible, CONSENSUS and LEGISLATION. In contrast, we have poorly formulated ideology rammed through at a time of hiatus at the municipal level of government which is the most affected by these amendments.

To take one example of how the process was working, Ontario’s Housing Affordability Task Force seemed to be a sensible step in CONSULTATION. It found that a shortage of land isn’t the cause of the housing affordability problem. In fact, 86,000 acres are available for development within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area alone. “Most of the solution must come from densification,” the Task Force recommended. “Greenbelts and other environmentally sensitive areas must be protected, and farms provide food and food security. Relying too heavily on undeveloped land would whittle away too much of the already small share of land devoted to agriculture.”

So what happened? A PROPOSAL that reflected none of these recommendations delivered with just days for FEEDBACK and DEBATE. The result - political CHAOS and the enactment of deeply flawed LEGISLATION. We, our children and future generations are fated to live with the consequences.