I am appalled at this…

I am appalled at this proposal and entirely disagree with its premise. Ontario has more than enough land on which to create more housing. As noted in the recent article in the Narwhal by Emma McIntosh:

"Earlier this year, the Ontario government’s own Housing Affordability Task Force delivered a report that said the same thing: “A shortage of land isn’t the cause of the problem,” it read. “Land is available, both inside the existing built-up areas and on undeveloped land outside greenbelts.” A bigger problem, the report said, is that Ontario hasn’t used the land it has efficiently."

Agricultural and green space land in Ontario needs to be valued and seen in the context of the next 100+ years. Encouraging more sprawl instead of densifying the areas we have developed is moving in the wrong direction.

Not only is opening more land for development bad for the environment, it makes good public services like transit more challenging and expensive for municipalities to offer. Transit is abysmal in most communities of the GTA where life without a car is dangerous, difficult, and costly in time. If the province wants to make life affordable and create more space for housing, it needs to help us reduce our reliance on cars. This means fewer highways, and more transit systems which are vastly more efficient at moving people.

If this government truly cares about housing, health and the environment of the future it will increase the scope of greenbelt protections AND retain all existing protections. Generations to come will judge you harshly. For shame.