Permanently protecting 2…

Permanently protecting 2 million acres of very productive farmland and environmentally sensitive areas was a hard-won victory in 2005. It is a shared legacy that was supposed to continue to deliver health, prosperity, and climate resilience to Ontario's residents. The Plan was for on-going protection - land swaps were not suggested or ever part of the plan. Trading land and replacing it with land far away is not an equal exchange. In fact some of the land being offered up is that much of it was already protected in other ways.

It was recognized the Greenbelt was needed for food security, climate resilience, protection of biodiversity, wetlands & waterways. These features need continuity can not be in isolation.

To be productive agricultural areas we need to not be fragmented because the agricultural businesses such as farm equipment suppliers, processors, feed mills need to have a large community.

There are already enough developable lands not being used for houses right now. Expansion into the Greenbelt for urban development is completely unnecessary & unjustifiable. Taking land out of the Greenbelt will not speed up the provision of more housing, nor will it provide more affordable housing options.

I believe many municipalities and regions when they say the financial implications of such significant outward expansion and the loss of the changes in development charges and additional costs will be borne, in large part, by existing municipal taxpayers.

I think they needs to be more consultation with stakeholders, scientists and accountants. There needs to be justification to altering a long standing Legislation boundary. This is being done quickly without the accompanying reports to verify it is needed.