I am opposed to the removal…

I am opposed to the removal of lands from the Greenbelt. It represents a form of death by a thousand cuts. A multitude of agencies have already commented on the potential harm that can be done by the removal of protection to properties adjacent to wetlands, headwaters, and recharge areas. Recent revelations by the CBC as to the ownership of much of the land to be sacrificed gives me reason to believe that certain developers were made aware of this proposed act in advance and it was purchased with the expectation that vast profits could be realised. There is still plenty of land still available outside of the Greenbelt for development as was noted by the committee that reported to the government not long ago as to how best to handle the housing crisis. There are still brownfield sites within cities that could and should be used before further greenfield development takes place. Further densification should take place long before bulldozing our ever shrinking farmland. The idea that any of the housing that would be built in the Greenbelt grab would be even remotely “affordable” is ludicrous in the extreme. In the eyes of many the proposal of turning over Greenbelt land for development is cronyism at its worst. The Premier has flipped and flopped on this matter several times already, repenting in public when caught out and then relapsing in private. The addition of the lands in the Paris-Galt Moraine is a welcome step but not as a part of a poison pill. The addition of the PGM was proposed independent of the stripping of the original Greenbelt and it should remain so.