I live in Pickering, near to…

I live in Pickering, near to the Duffins-Rouge Agricultural Preserve (DRAP) that is slated to be removed from the Greenbelt.

It is a quiet area perfect for cycling, where few cars are encountered off of the main arterial roads (Taunton, Whites, Altona, Townline). This mix of farmland and forest just minutes from the main residential area of Pickering is a rare oasis where one can escape from civilization for a few hours. We've already lost most of the natural and agricultural areas east of Duffins Creek to development of the Seaton community, which is supposed to support over 70,000 new residents. This community, developed under the Central Pickering Development Plan (CPDP) by the Government of Ontario, explicitly designed the community with the DRAP in mind and intact, so as to preserve prime agricultural lands. While Ontario is facing a housing crisis, it is also facing a food crisis, and removing spaces where Ontario can grow its own food to feed its own citizens without relying on imports does nothing to ensure food security for current and future generations of Ontarians.

Construction of Seaton has been going on for over 5 years, and yet the necessary road infrastructure has not been adequate to keep up with demand. New wide roads have been built within the community, but existing arterial roads such as Brock remain heavily congested leading to and from the community. While the 407 is one route out of Seaton and the DRAP area, the primary thoroughfares will remain the North-South roads leading down to the established South Pickering and all its amenities plus access to the 401 (via Brock and Whites) leading to Toronto for many commuters. There is little room to widen existing roads, putting extra pressure on already overused infrastructure with few mass transportation options. This is not sustainable, and new residents moving into the proposed DRAP subdivisions would not be receiving the amenities they would expect and deserve.

Developers already own much of the land in DRAP, but the majority of houses built by those developers have been low-to-medium density housing. To address the housing crisis we do not need to expand urban sprawl and use up the last remaining green spaces, we need to look at responsible infill projects that increase housing density in existing urban and suburban spaces where the transportation infrastructure is better able to support additional residents. Repealing the CPDP and developing the DRAP does not adequately address the housing crisis.

Lastly, nearby Rouge Park is home to over two dozen species at risk. Developing one of the last remaining undeveloped bordering areas would remove a much needed buffer area to ensure the survival of those species. By putting more humans and human-inhabited areas closer to the habitat of these species, plus further fracturing their existing habitat (by removing the DRAP which acts as a corridor between the Rouge and Duffins watersheds), we are intentionally and knowingly putting these species at further risk, and potentially causing irreparable damage to currently stable species.

The Government of Ontario intends to break its promise to not develop the Greenbelt. This is unacceptable, and deprives current and future generations from access to prime agricultural and natural land, putting at risk endangered species, human food security, and our inherent need to connect to natural spaces.