The Ontario Greenbelt is a…

The Ontario Greenbelt is a world-renowned biosphere. We have a unique, beautiful part of the world in our backyard and this requires responsibility and strong leadership to defend from those who would wish to exploit it.

Doug Ford is one of these individuals. Too many Ontarians, let alone Canadians, see only short-term gain or profit, and are guided by self-serving, greedy interests. They see land sitting there, void of houses and shopping malls and, unable to leave anything be or realise the extreme dependence human beings and our survival have upon these incredible green spaces/wetlands/carbon sinks, etc., assume they must be put to work. The Greenbelt is already working for us, overtime. They are an enormous, far-reaching set of lungs that remove CO2 from our air, provide necessary habit for crowded out wildlife, and a safe haven for biodiversity, amongst hundreds of other benefits.

The Greenbelt has never, nor should it ever be, 'open for business.' I am honestly astounded this is even on the table, but I cannot say I am surprised. This came to light before Doug Ford was even elected, and should not have been ignored.

Ontarians--human beings--must realise constant development and razing the Greenbelt is not the answer, nor should it even be an option. Redevelopment of existing and outdated infrastructure would be a better start, and mindful urban planning.

Nature needs half, as evidenced in Edward O. Wilson's 'Half-Earth'. We are already failing in this endeavour, and to hand over the Greenbelt for development would be to fail further, and shameful.

We need everything we have left, and then some; Doug Ford is an inadequate leader if he feels this is truly a decision that would benefit the people of Ontario and Canada.