The Ontario Rivers Alliance …

The Ontario Rivers Alliance (ORA) is a not-for-profit grassroots organization with a mission to protect, conserve and restore Ontario riverine ecosystems. The ORA advocates for effective policy and legislation to ensure that development affecting Ontario rivers is environmentally and socially sustainable.

The ORA is pleased to provide strong support for this proposal to introduce legislation (Bill 136) titled the Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023, to restore the 15 parcels of land that were redesignated and removed from the Greenbelt in December 2022. The ORA also supported ERO-019-7561 and 019-7562, dated 19 October 2023, proposals to return lands to the Greenbelt, with Amendments to the Greenbelt Plan and Greenbelt Boundary Regulation O.Reg. 59/05.

ORA suggests that the Greenbelt boundaries should be expanded, not reduced, and the designated lands must remain Greenbelt with all the relevant land use restrictions. Removal of lands must be onerous by design to deter speculators from seeking land designated as Greenbelt. It is reassuring that lands cannot be removed from the Greenbelt by regulation.

ORA strongly supports:

1. The new section to the Act, 14.1, to restore the Greenbelt Plan to the 15 areas of land that were removed or redesignated in 2022, while maintaining the 2022 lands that were added.
2. The re-enactment and enhancement of section 2 of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001, to repeal the authority of the Lieutenant Governor in Council to add/remove lands from the Greenbelt.
3. Lastly, ORA supports the new section of the Act, 26, to restore the designation of land that was redesignated in 2022.

Thank you for this opportunity to comment.