Please see attached document…

Please see attached document for my full comments.

Some Key Points:

The proposal to remove 7,400 acres from the protected land of the Greenbelt needs to be withdrawn.

The Greenbelt needs to be expanded, not diminished.

The effects of climate change, rising global and local food insecurity, loss of biodiversity, shrinking forests and habitat are realities that must be addressed and helped, not exacerbated. These proposals which would take 15 protected areas out of the Greenbelt, removing 7,400 acres of critically important land are going in the completely wrong direction and are unacceptable at every level.

Furthermore, the “offsetting” proposed in these amendments is ill conceived and scientifically unsound.

Taking these important lands out of the Greenbelt for more housing developments creates more urban sprawl that benefits developers and their associates but hurts the people of Ontario and our environment and climate.

The Greenbelt is meant to be continuous - not a patchwork of what’s left over after uninformed and rushed decisions. The integrity of the Greenbelt must be kept for all of us, for biodiversity, for wildlife migration, for the survival of ecosystems, habitats, all species, and for our own food security. The science is clear - habitat fragmentation has complex and devastating consequences.

I urge the Ministry to preserve the integrity of the Greenbelt and not remove the proposed 7,400 acres from it.

At a time when the planet is in a climate crisis, when food security concerns are mounting, when we are losing forests, wetlands and species, the proposed amendments are tone deaf on these existential matters.

The amendments take Ontario in a completely wrong and dangerous direction. They would cause irreparable harm.