I am very concerned that…

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013-4293

Comment ID

20728

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I am very concerned that Bill 66 will reduce or eliminate the protection of environmental and agricultural land protected by the Greenbelt and the Oak Ridges Moraine. There is no correlation between "competitiveness" and the protection of sensitive and important environmental lands. In fact one of the main reasons, businesses and people come to the GTA is that there is a healthy and sustainable environment that has been protected through years of community consultation and good planning, which has provided one of the most liveable regions in North America.
There is almost 30,000 acres of "white" lands available for development. Current estimates indicate that this will provide enough housing until at least 2041. Therefore, availability of lands to develop is not the issue.

There may be issues around the delays in development however this is related to issues of servicing the lands (sewers, roads, hydro, water, and public transit), not the amount of lands available for development. That is the issue the government should be addressing, There should not be any reduction to environmental protection regulations or regulations protecting the Greenbelt. Please amend Bill 66 to ensure the Greenbelt and Oak Ridges Moraine protected area is not reduced.