I am a personal and…

I am a personal and professional advocate for affordable housing, and I am always eager for opportunities to increase the number of good-quality units available for sale and rent for families & singletons at no more than 40% of a single income at minimum wage. However, the potential degradation and destruction of Ontario's internationally unique Greenbelt in pursuit of new housing developments, which these proposed changes would expedite, not only does absolutely nothing to guarantee additional affordable housing; it also carries well-documented long-term flood risks to both new and existing residential neighbourhoods by reducing watershed buffer zones during rainstorms and Extreme Weather Events.

Given known vacancy rates (30-70% in some cases) in existing Ontario housing units - due in significant part to the use of residential properties as investment capital - there is little need to develop virgin land for new housing. Please listen to well-known affordable housing citizen advocacy groups, rather than to for-profit stakeholders, when taking measures to address Ontario's housing crisis.