I am a resident of Vaughan,…

I am a resident of Vaughan, Ontario. I have lived in Vaughan for 32 years and I have lived in Ontario for 54 years. I am strongly opposed to Bill 23, the “build more houses faster” bill as it will infringe on thousands of acres of Greenbelt. Premier Doug Ford clearly stipulated in his last campaign that he would not touch protected Greenbelt land and this bill’s intent is to do just that in order to address the housing crisis and in order to build highway #413. This will add to the problem of global warming and climactic change. In order to reduce emissions into the atmosphere, forests need to be left untouched as the only hope we have to reduce the greenhouse effect which causes the warming of temperatures in the atmosphere is trees acting as a filtration system for the pollutants that are emitted into the air. As trees are cut down to accommodate for urban sprawl, the less filters we have for the pollutants that contaminate the air and cause warming effects of climate and in turn cause extreme weather patterns which result in devastation. This is a reality. President Biden in his last address to the United Nations this past fall said, “ Forests are more valuable if they are left untouched”. Furthermore, due to extreme weather conditions as in the drought in California, the food supply is heavily effected. We are paying very high prices in Canada for produce as there is a shortage such as lettuce. Premier Doug Ford continues to accentuate the point that Ontario needs to be more self reliant and self sustaining. He wants to see Ontario manufacture it’s own materials and grow its own locally grown food. How do we propose to grow our own food if precious farm land is paved over? He and his cabinet must think very carefully of the very serious potential risks to the environment. We must sustain our natural heritage space and we must keep it viable not destroy it. This is extremely important for the health and well being of all Ontarians and for the health and well being of future generations!