I am writing to you as a…

I am writing to you as a resident of Thornhill. Our family has been residing in Thornhill since 2006, in the Dufferin and Clark area, and we have always greatly enjoyed and appreciated having a lot of natural green space around Thornhill/Vaughan. We are very happy to see multiple bird species in the area, as well as all sorts of wild mammals such as rabbits, raccoons, and foxes. I enjoy exploring various natural areas with my son, such as the Marita Payne Park trail, and the Nashville Conservation Area.

We now are extremely concerned and outraged by the announcement of the provincial government in regards to the opening up of the Greenbelt for development.

The Greenbelt is an area that should be permanently protected. The value of the Greenbelt is in providing life to other species such as plants, birds, and wild mammals, and the value also lies in the human enjoyment of natural forests. Ontarians greatly respect and appreciate nature and we would be devastated to see Greenbelt destroyed by developers. The benefits of more houses WOULD NOT outweigh the devastating costs of the destruction of these natural areas. Our family has chosen to live in this area specifically due to the availability of natural forests and swamps around Vaughan and Richmond Hill, the quality of life does not just lie in owning a house, but the surrounding area greatly matters. Seeing the Greenbelt turn into more suburbs and plazas would be devastating to the residents of Ontario.

The residents of Thornhill DO NOT support the proposed destruction of Greenbelt around Vaughan, Richmond Hill, King, etc. The extension of monotone suburbs is not more valuable than the life of all plants and other species that reside in the natural areas of the Greenbelt.

Yes, we do need more housing in Ontario, but this is not the solution. I also work in the Anti-Money Laundering field , and I am quite informed on the topic of real estate purchases. Instead of destroying precious natural spaces, the Ontario government needs to focus on preventing laundered money flowing into real estate investments. Not enough is being done about money laundering and we see investors buying up homes, leaving some of them empty, and leaving out of the market families with average salaries. We also need to focus on changing the zoning laws and building more dense housing units such as row houses and townhouses. A lot of space is wasted in the GTA by having private golf courses and one-story plazas, these spaces could be developed into residential high-rises. We have solutions that do not involve destruction of protected environmental areas.

Please help us stop the development of the previous Greenbelt, I hope that my children and future grandchildren will never see the Greenbelt turned into driveways and Walmart parking lots.