This proposal is a drastic,…

This proposal is a drastic, poorly thought out, and potentially disastrous plan to solve a crisis with many, many, many better solutions. Lack of supply is not the only problem in the housing crisis, and creating more supply is not a sustainable, long term solution. It is merely a temporary fix for a larger, more complex situation.

Given that you are the Environmental Registry of Ontario, I don't think I need to elaborate on the environmental value of the Greenbelt. Destroying it - even only parts of it - for the sake of housing development is a needless sacrifice, and sets a precedent that could, and likely would, lead to a slippery slope in future legislation and environmental protection. Even if "more houses, faster" was a feasible solution, targeting protected land for the development is even more shortsighted. We cannot implement solutions to one problem that exacerbate others - we need to ensure that we are protecting our green spaces and environment in the midst of on ongoing and worsening climate crisis.

High density housing within the GTA and in existing neighbourhoods should be the first priority. The housing crisis is not simply a lack of housing. It is also a lack of affordability, corporations buying numerous properties to let them sit empty or rent them at extortive rates, poor infrastructure and transport options to support living outside the downtown core, and numerous other factors that housing advocates have been touting for many years. David Hulchanski, a housing and community development professor at the University of Toronto, has said that reducing the problem to a lack of supply ignores "underpinnings of the market such as housing speculation, lost supply due to short-term rentals, multiple property ownership, tax evasion and money laundering in real estate, and the financing structure in housing".

Rather than increase the scope of the housing problem, the Ford government needs to address issues with existing housing. Empty properties need to be heavily taxed or otherwise appropriated; many of these existed due to corporations and foreign investors, and more have popped up in the form of empty offices in the age of work from home. The development of McMansions, and similarly large estates needs to be stopped, or at least slowed in favour of accommodations with higher resident capacities. In fact, all or most of ongoing and future development needs to be tailored to high density housing. Transport and infrastructure - and by this I mean public transportation, not highways with extraordinarily high financial and environmental costs with almost no benefit to the public - need to be improved for commuters and those in the broader GTA. We also need to make housing affordable; adding more supply does not change the fact that buying a home is impossible for many people in Ontario.

There are several other potential solutions that exist to address the housing crisis (that Doug Ford and his government have been made aware of) and have decided not to attempt to pursue. We have to ask why that is, and hold our elected officials accountable. The Ford government has close ties with the developers interested in the Greenbelt land, and there is talk of building a highway through it as well (the very same highway that has been assessed by experts and foreseen to add no real value for commuters). This is not coincidence.

This proposal would destroy protected land that is more critical than ever to preserve given the current climate crisis, without good reason. It is beyond reasonable belief that the government would suggest to do this without even attempting to pursue a number of more accessible, less expensive, more effective, and overall better solutions that are available.

That is why I am submitting this comment in protest of this proposal, and am encouraging any readers to do the same and to contact their MPPs to express their concerns.