Although adding onto the…

Although adding onto the greenbelt, especially by including rivers and valleys, is important, these amendments should not be made. According to the Toronto Star, the Ford Government promised not to touch the greenbelt and also said no land swap would be made. Going back on these promises does not show the government is trustworthy.

As well, this sets a precedent that the greenbelt can be swapped out, which makes it easier for those in the future to do the same.

There is little to no information on this website about the ecological effects of these proposed amendments, but the other websites linked below show that the protections on at risk species have already been weakened, and much of the land which has been proposed to add to the greenbelt is already under some form of environmental protection. It's likely that these amendments will have a negative effect on the local environments overall, especially since there is no explicitly laid out oversight of the policies and protocols for these plans and amendments.

Culturally, the greenbelt is a large part of what makes the GTA the GTA, and should be protected for that reason as well.

Lastly, there are many many many other ways of building new houses/apartments without cutting into the greenbelt, such as rezoning to allow for mixed office/residential areas, housing subsidies, etc. Another possibility is banning large corporate landlords from buying up housing in the GTA. Mom and pop landlords make up only 3% of Canadian households, with large corporations making up the rest. With large monopolies, the companies can afford to raise rents for higher profits, and buy more households to increase their market share. Getting rid of this problem and lowering rents (or putting in a rent cap) might be of more use then cutting out parts of the greenbelt, even if new areas will be added.