I am strongly OPPOSED to…

I am strongly OPPOSED to this proposal to open sections of protected Greenbelt land to development. Firstly, the Greenbelt boundaries were decided based on a variety of ecological and sociopolitical factors. "Replacing" the developed land with other, new protected areas defeats the purpose of protecting the specifically chosen Greenbelt land. Simply swapping land does not achieve the same conservation benefits. Developing these regions will also have severe ecological consequences, impacting biodiversity, hydrological patterns (which will impact drinking water supply), soil quality, air pollution, and agricultural practices. This proposal sets a dangerous precedent of removing protections from protected land whenever it is convenient for the government of the day. Lastly, this proposal enables the continuation of urban sprawl, which is proven to be expensive for municipalities, provinces, and and individuals in the long run, and is not an efficient way to solve our housing crisis. This is an extremely dangerous proposal with negative social, environmental, and economic consequences.