I am a humble and ordinary…

I am a humble and ordinary citizen who appreciates anything government does to protect our environment. I believe that the natural environment transcends party lines because it supports all of us: I don’t think that the Liberals and Greens should have a better reputation than Conservatives on environment. I think Conservatives would gain a lot of “street credit” if they took very seriously the outcry on the proposed changes to the Greenbelt, sensitive ecosystems and disempowering environmental/conservation authorities.

I also realize that we have a housing crisis which will get worse as more people come to Canada (who we need to enrich our country and improve the world as a province & nation). I have not had capacity to review ALL relevant documents, legislation, amendments, etc: but I hope you will sincerely include my perspectives in your law-making.

A lot of work and wisdom went into establishing the Greenbelt and I am proud that we have these lands protected. I don't care what political stripe made this happen. I think it's good to expand the Greenbelt with other portions of land (keep that part of your plan!), but NOT to remove lands from it. I care deeply for the natural environment and all the non-human "neighbours" who share this great land of Ontario - they also need homes & enrich human life in many intangible but valuable ways.

I think Conservation Authorities should be just that: authorities, not just consultants who can be dismissed.

Let’s find more creative ways to build more housing. I think governments should do everything possible to build within city/town limits: to build up, to better use abandoned or under-used spaces. As an example, instead of big-box mall-sprawls with vast parking lots, why not condense those, resuscitate multi-storey malls and multi-storey parking garages and repurpose some of the spaces for housing? Why do houses have to be so huge? Could we also work on making smaller homes that are more affordable to people? How about “Tiny House” neighbourhoods?

One of the great features and gifts of Ontario and Canada to the world is the LAND within our borders, particularly the undeveloped land. My perspective is that we are stewards of a tremendous wealth, we are responsible to care for this land and all that dwells therein (not just humans – but plants, animals, waterways and even minerals). Before we keep sprawling and spreading (just because we have space), I strongly think that we should densify, build up – like in so many other areas of the world. Let US here in Ontario and Canada exemplify how to care for BOTH humans and the natural world.

I think we should be much more cautious about building over Ontario's prime farmland. I think we can better use Ontario’s farmland by supporting more permaculture and regenerative agriculture farms & projects – better for sustainable yields that do less harm to humans and the environment.

I am not convinced about reducing developers’ fees: I’ve heard different “experts” talk in the past few weeks and understand that these fees are used to support the functioning of our cities & towns, to care for infrastructure.

If we are welcoming this many new people to our province – are we also ensuring that roads and transit plans are keeping up? It is not fair to citizens that we spend hours of our lives stuck in traffic or transit. I hope this is being considered in your development plans.

To reiterate my deepest concern: don’t take away any more land from our non-human neighbours, if at all possible. If we need to develop more lands, please be VERY PRUDENT and respectful in how that land is chosen. I see from the maps that the land selected for development borders existing townships, which makes sense at first glance. But there has been a lot of outcry about the sensitivity of these ecosytems & how they would not be suitable for building human communities. Let it be shown that SERIOUS listening and consideration has been given to these concerned citizen voices, cities, townships, and Conservation Authorities and environmental experts. Probably some concessions need to be made to show that you are listening.

Thanks for reading attentively my perspectives.