Thank you for considering my…

Thank you for considering my comment. I had a chance to read through the Report of the Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force and it iterates that: "a shortage of land isn’t the cause of the problem. Land is available, both inside the existing built-up areas and on undeveloped land outside greenbelts."

With this in mind, I believe that it is unwise to change the boundaries of the Greenbelt as this would remove protections that have been put in place with a lot of hard work and advocacy. Changing boundaries can set a precedence for further development, which is unnecessary as there is land still available outside the Greenbelt boundaries. The Greenbelt provides many environmental protections, including safety of our drinking water and safety from flooding. Without these protections, even if housing were to be built on the Greenbelt, the housing there and in surrounding areas would be at higher risk of damage in the event of storm and flood events (which have been increasing in recent years).

As the report states: "Greenbelts and other environmentally sensitive areas must be protected, and farms provide food and food security."

There are some great recommendations on how housing can be addressed with other solutions, such as changing zoning laws within urban boundaries.

Source/reference: https://files.ontario.ca/mmah-housing-affordability-task-force-report-e…