PLEASE SAVE THE GREENBELT …

PLEASE SAVE THE GREENBELT ITS OURS FUTURE!

* We need your help to stop the Ford Government proceeding with this terrible proposal.

* I am writing to express my strong opposition to allowing Proposed Amendments to the Greenbelt Plan And it’s impact…

1. Wildlife movement blocked and thousands of animals killed
2. Poorer air quality and more greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change
3. Inappropriate development results in a loss of farmland, forests, and wetland
4. The Greenbelt stops urban sprawl and improves our quality of life.

The Greenbelt provides:

*5,500 farms with $230,000 average gross revenue per farm
*$9.1 billion in economic benefits, including 161,000 full time jobs
*Forested areas clean our air, removing the greenhouse gas pollution of 27 million cars per year
*Habitat for 78 species at risk of extinction
*10,000 km of recreational trails to hike, walk, ski and more
*$2.3 billion in ecosystem services, such as clean water, air filtration and flood control, essential to managing climate change
*98,700 hectares of lakes, rivers and wetlands providing freshwater to millions
*A healthy future to millions of people projected to move into and grow up in this region
= infinite and priceless

* Removing 7,400 acres of farmland and natural areas from Greenbelt protection will not solve the housing crisis and will create a whole new set of problems:
* Harming Ontario’s food security by reducing our ability to grow fresh local food.
* Destroying land that provides key ecological services like flood protection and carbon sequestration that we will increasingly rely on as the climate crisis worsens
* Setting a destructive precedent that Greenbelt protected lands will be sacrificed when land speculators want to develop them therefore creating an ecologically damaged “swiss cheese” Greenbelt; 
* For MPPs: I urge you to tell the Premier today to scrap his plan to take land out of the Greenbelt. And if he’s serious about solving the housing crisis, then focus on lands ready for development.
* For Local Council: Please contact our local MPP and tell them you oppose his plan to take land out of the Greenbelt
* For Local Council: Please work with your fellow Council members to send a formal message to your MPPs, Minister Clark and the Premier expressing your opposition to removing lands from the Greenbelt. Ask them to solve the housing crisis by focusing on lands ready for development.