It is ridiculous for…

It is ridiculous for municipalities to build on Greenbelt (or former Greenbelt) lands. Because A) we need farmland to stay farmland or we will have no way to feed Ontario's growing population; B) we desperately need to preserve greenspaces for our own long term survival (which depends on the survival of wild pollinators) and to buffer climate change (scientists have suggested that 50% of the earth's lands and oceans should be preserved in a wild state - i.e., "half earth"); C) these lands are not generally serviced (with sewer, water, electricity, etc.) so building on them involves a huge expense to the municipality - with all the profit going to the developer (this is a model that is not in the public interest).

Ontario has plenty of land available where existing built-on land or empty lots in areas already designated for development can be developed more densely (e.g., subdivide large yards build infill houses; build backyard and laneway suites; increase height/density with townhouses and low rise).

Ontario's housing crisis has NOTHING to do with a lack of available land. Opening up new land is a false solution designed to solve nothing but developers' insatiable appetite for profit.

Stop it.