I have read the proposed…

I have read the proposed Greenbelt amendments with dismay and ask for the government to reconsider the plans to remove a significant amount of greenbelt area from the province in the name of creating more urban and suburban residential sprawl.

Ontario's Greenbelt is the world's largest. It protects farmland, forests, wetlands, rivers, and lakes. It was created in 2005 to, prevent further loss of farmland and natural heritage, restrict urban sprawl, and to work with the Growth Plan to develop vibrant communities where people can live, work, and play. The Greenbelt was created specifically to stop the residential sprawl that this amendment proposes.

The Greenbelt safeguards the vital resources that clean our air and water, reduces our flood risks, provides a home for wildlife, and ensures our communities have greenspace to explore. The Greenbelt absorbs rainwater, manages storm water during severe weather events, and helps to prevent costly flooding. In times of drought, a healthy, connected system provides a buffer against diseases and other stresses. In a warming climate, the tree cover and vegetation of the Greenbelt keeps ambient temperatures down. City dwellers can find relief from the cooling effect of the region’s river valleys.

The Greenbelt’s forests, wetlands, and soils slow the impact of climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

With the highest quality soils, favourable climate conditions, and proximity to Canada’s largest market, Greenbelt farms and businesses deliver a staggering diversity of local food and drink. Farmland makes up 40% of the protected Greenbelt, including rare specialty crop areas: the Holland Marsh and the Niagara Tender Fruit and Grape Area.

There are ways to increase housing capability in Ontario that will not affect the environment as haphazardly as the government has planned. Using infill, using brownfields, increasing housing density, and building walkable, mixed-use communities are all ways that Ontario can be a leader in sustainable housing development. Building unnecessary highways that take 30 seconds off of commute time, paving over wetlands, building suburbs on conservation lands, and chipping away at the Greenbelt will do nothing but harm Ontario and its residents in both the short and long term.

I urge the government to reconsider this proposal and find other ways of creating growth in Ontario, through denser, mixed-use communities using land that is already available without taking away from the essential Greenbelt.

Sincerely,
A Concerned Citizen