The plan to build housing on…

The plan to build housing on parcels of the Green Belt in the GTA is misguided, short-sighted, and alarming. Misguided, because there are plenty of alternatives to increase housing without having to build on pristine watersheds. We don’t need more urban sprawl at prices that the average citizen cannot afford. We need AFFORDABLE housing, such as rental units, duplexes, and higher density in established neighbourhoods. Do something with those empty, overpriced condos that investors are holding just for profit.
Short-sighted, because once these edges of the Green Belt have been built upon, they will not be able to do their job of protecting their watersheds from flooding, erosion, and groundwater contamination and depletion. Not to mention the urban ecosystems they support, and the need of humans for accessible green spaces. It sets a precedent – once you begin nibbling away at the edges, then it will be done again and again, until the space is essentially gone. Substituting Green Belt lands with designated countryside further out does nothing to preserve the green spaces within the city boundaries.
Alarming, because of the speed with which you are enacting this process. To quote some famous lyrics, “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. They paved paradise, put up a parking lot.”
I urge you to slow down, seek more opinions from ecologists and urban planners alike, and come up with a better plan.