Bill 23 upsets me. It makes…

Bill 23 upsets me. It makes me feel hopeless for my future in Ontario, as a resident and as an environmentalist. I currently work in the field of ecological restoration, working extremely hard to restore wetland and aquatic environments in Ontario. The changes the government is proposing to develop the greenbelt completely reverses the work that i do to create, restore, and protect ecologically crucial natural areas in the province.

Our natural green spaces that have been left untouched are crucial for adapting to future imminenent climate change impacts. Building into the greenbelt is an irreversible and colossal mistake. Urban sprawl is not the answer for solving Ontarians housing crisis. There is NOT a shortage of available land in Ontario.

You CANNOT offset an ecosystem that has evolved over centuries with a new green feature somewhere else. You cannot replace the sensitive species that exist on those areas, and assume that they will be able to move themselves to other areas and survive. The unique ecosystems myself and my colleagues strive so hard to protect and restore cannot be recreated elsewhere. The sensitive and at-risk species that rely on these areas for breeding, overwintering, or shelter cannot simply be replaced when their entire home has been destroyed. These species will inevitably be lost, either immediately or in the near future as all our already limited number of natural areas become decimated by development. That is a devastation that cannot be undone.

This government will destroy the best, highest quality remaining habitat that we have left in Southern Ontario. How will Ontarians manage the changing climate when there are no green areas left to protect them? Paving over the greenbelt will be substantially more costly than this government realizes, both in the present, as well as in the future when ontarians will have to foot the bill for our province’s inability to cope with flooding, fires, intense storms, etc. Building on our wetlands, sensitive floodplains, and dense forested areas will not allow for affordable housing in the short and long term. Developing areas that are key to water infiltration (like wetlands), in particular, will inevitably be more expensive and time consuming, and ultimately not creating affordable housing.

The government should absolutely not be developing into the green belt. Ontario needs to start thinking about creating more urban density, rather than urban sprawl. If the government truly wanted the best for ontarians in the long run, it would not destroy the only remaining natural areas we have left. I do not think that my comment will have any impact in changing the governments decision, but i need my (and many others) voice to be heard.

I find it very hard to convince myself to continue to be a resident of this province when the government continuously shows such a blatant disregard for the environment.