I am a concerned student in…

I am a concerned student in grade 9, who fears what will likely come from the new proposed amendments for the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2017. These new amendments put the greenbelt and our environment at risk. The greenbelt is significant to Ontario and provides not only environmental and agricultural benefits but also an economic boost for Ontario. The proposed amendment 2.1 changes crucial parts of the growth plan and disregards many of the previous concerns for carbon emissions. The changes will allow municipalities to take part in urban sprawl and gets rid the land set out for future development.

Amendment 2.1 changes Ontario’s lower-carbon goal and gets rid of our long term plan to become net-zero communities. Instead of reducing Ontario’s carbon emissions to 37% less than our carbon emission in 1990, the new goal for Ontario is reducing 30% less than 2005’s carbon emissions by 2030. The emissions in 1990 were far less than the emissions in 2005, this lowers our goal and pollutes more than the original plan. It doesn’t promote the reduction of gas emissions or air pollution but rather allows companies and communities to take less action against climate change.The change will allow companies to continue polluting as long as they’ve met the new lowered requirements, this will benefit them more than the environment. Getting rid of the net-zero long term goal is another negative change. Net-zero is an important goal that is great for not only the environment but for people as well. Our net-zero target encourages ontarians to help the environment and fight climate change. Since Canada will be most affected by climate change, as its inhabitants we should be reducing our emissions and contributions to climate change and if not, we will be the ones that suffers the consequences.
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Although it seems as though this change is a mere addition of a few words, these four words create a limitation. Originally, the plan read, “Communities need to grow at transit-supportive densities, with walkable street configurations. Compact built form and intensification efforts go together with more effective transit and active transportation networks and are fundamental to where and how we grow”. Amending it to read ‘Communities in larger urban centres...’ would mean that only places like Toronto should have compact growth, whereas many other areas aren’t obliged to as they aren’t urban centres. The only other form of growth is urban sprawl. Coincidentally, the greenbelt currently helps reduce urban sprawl, which is one of the reasons why it is necessary. This change allows municipalities far from urban centres to stray from compact growth and spread out into the ‘White-Belt’. This is potentially a risk for the greenbelt as further expansion may be set into motion. Urban sprawl benefits companies and builders but not really the people. Our nature and protected land will be gone. As someone who lives near an old farmland that was recently sold to a developer, I can assure that majority of people don’t like to have the land that dear live on turned into new housing. Ontarians won’t benefit from the loopholes which allow urban sprawl and neither will the environment.
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The new amendments take out this important section: “There is a large supply of land already designated for future urban development in the GGH. In some communities, there may be more land designated for development than is required to accommodate forecasted growth to the horizon of this Plan”. This makes it clear that there is land set out for development according to the expected growth of population and cities. Without this, it doesn’t specify where any future development other then compact growth will happen. This allows communities to not only build into the ‘White-Belt’ but, potentially also into the greenbelt.
In conclusion, the new amendments to the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2017 aren’t in favor of the environment or the future of Ontario. The amendments put our future at risk by allowing urban sprawl to happen which lets communities move towards the greenbelt, and the reduction of our goals about Ontario’s gas emissions. If these changes are made it will be us who regret the consequences. These amendments should be withdrawn and leave the plan as it is.