I do not believe the…

I do not believe the rezoning of the greenbelt is an advisable choice to combatting the housing crisis. These lands were protected and remain protected to ensure the viability of our ecosystem and ecological defences. Adjusting the zoning of the greenbelt will irreparably damage the ecosystems that have been developing for 17 years, paving over these lands only to ideally buildup protections elsewhere is not a benefit to anyone it is a net loss. We know that ecosystems are not things that can be neatly divided and altered at will, there is connectivity across the entire makeup of the green belt, something that certainly aids in its strength. Taking parcels of land out and developing on to them will undoubtedly alter the prominence and capabilities of the surround protected areas. In a time where municipalities are beginning to look for options for ecological safe guards from damages via a changing climate and the dangers it brings, we need to consider developments that won't jeopardize the structure of watersheds and risk flooding of homes, as an example.

Contributing to sprawl by pushing developments further out in Ontario will contribute to more traffic congestion, CO2 emissions from cars, single family homes dominating space in the most inefficient manner. We need to think of the land we currently have that can be developed in established city centres and work to make that housing affordable and accessible to Ontarians that need and deserve it.

I am particularly worried as to how this can lead to more pressure to open up parts of the greenbelt. It establishes a dangerous precedent of a flimsy sense of 'conservation'. To walk bravely into years where climate conscious decisions are at high-priority, we need to hold firm on the protections we currently have and expand further. One step forward, not two steps back!