I am deeply opposed to the…

I am deeply opposed to the removal of lands from the Greenbelt to be used for development. We are in a time of climate crisis; we need as much land as possible to buffer the impacts of increased severe weather events that we will continue to see and to grow food for our growing population. In addition, increasing development in the Greenbelt will only continue to create a reliance on personal vehicles and the burning of fossil fuels to power them. The Greenbelt is crucial to creating a healthy natural environment in Southern Ontario. Without a healthy natural environment, no one has a home to live in and development is irrelevant. Human health is closely linked with environmental health, and we cannot have one without the other.
In addition, Ontario's own Housing Affordability Taskforce has said that access to land is not the cause of the housing affordability crisis:
“… 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. … Most of the solution must come from densification. Greenbelts and other environmentally sensitive areas must be protected, and farms provide food and food security.” (Housing Affordability Task Force report, p.10)
We need to make use of the land that already exists within city limits to increase housing supply in a way that creates truly affordable housing and protects our natural environment.