Hello, I am severely…

Hello,

I am severely disappointed and concerned that the Ministry is seriously considering this. I'm doubly disappointed, as the current Premier of Ontario had a campaign promise to leave the Green Belt alone.

It seems like an oversimplification and misunderstanding of the current housing crisis, as the current major issue is not supply, but pricing due to first time homes being held by landlords. It also seems that the Green Belt would not be the place to solve this issue, even if the supply was the problem.

Further, the green belt as-is is something for Ontarians to take pride in, a statement of our commitment to the environment, and a symbol of our province's natural beauty. It also is home to endangered species. It stands as a world-class example of conservation efforts - one that should not so callously be used for residential growth. The belt also has important agricultural land. It's a very expensive mistake to endanger this precious natural resource to try to address a problem which has other solutions (ones which won't take over natural or agricultural land).

I deeply hope the Province will reconsider enacting this plan, and instead explore other avenues to provide housing relief - such as better support for renters and rent-control, or subsidizing existing housing.