Thank you for considering my…

Thank you for considering my comment. I had a chance to read through the Report of the Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force and it iterates that: "a shortage of land isn’t the cause of the problem. Land is available, both inside the existing built-up areas and on undeveloped land outside greenbelts."

It is not prudent to remove or redesignate land within the Greenbelt as this would remove protections that have been put in place with a lot of hard work and advocacy. The areas highlighted for removal or redesignation would effectively fragment the Greenbelt thus reducing the effectiveness of the environmental protections it provides and leaves it vulnerable to further fragmentation. Fragmentation not only affects biodiversity of both plants and animals, but also affects the hydrological cycle. For example, it creates breaks in vegetation, which is critical to water infiltration and runoff prevention - both things we need to protect our drinking water and prevent flooding.

As the report states: "Greenbelts and other environmentally sensitive areas must be protected, and farms provide food and food security."

There are some great recommendations on how housing can be addressed with other solutions, such as changing zoning laws within urban boundaries.

Source/reference: https://files.ontario.ca/mmah-housing-affordability-task-force-report-e…