The decision to open up any…

The decision to open up any land in the Ontario Greenbelt for construction is illogical and irresponsible, and is not supported by the majority of residents in Ontario (the Greenbelt's website, for example, provides polling results, as does a November Oraclepoll Research survey conducted on behalf of the North Gwillimbury Forest Alliance---see accompanying link). Mr. Ford's government has previously said on several occasions that they would not entertain the idea of allowing development on the Greenbelt; this promise is now being broken after their reelection, and it reflects poorly on their integrity in the eyes of Ontarians. There is sufficient land already slated for development to enable the construction of enough new affordable housing if it is done with proper planning. Protected lands should not be touched. You should be giving more forests and wetlands conservation status and protecting more farmland, not taking any away.

You should be seeking increased input and support from conservation authorities, not less, to ensure that growth and development is carried out safely and sustainably.

Several major news outlets have made it clear that the people standing to benefit most from the Ontario government's proposal to open 7400 acres of the protected Greenbelt are the developers who have bought the land. It is highly doubtful that the land will result in affordable housing for any but the richest residents or newcomers. If you are so concerned about affordable housing, there should be stipulations in place that the majority of housing that might be built here or elsewhere must be affordable, and currently there are no such stipulations. Judging by all of the other subdivisions going in across the area, the houses will be well upwards of 1.5 to 2 million dollars, not "affordable" to any but the very wealthy, particularly considering the fact that people who live in these communities will also have to own vehicles to commute elsewhere to work.

We need the land in the Greenbelt to remain protected so that Ontario's most fertile and arable farmland can continue to produce food for Ontarians. We also need the Greenbelt to provide green spaces for people's physical and mental health, and natural habitat for our rapidly dwindling wildlife. Our planet, as I'm sure you know, is in crisis, and building mansions and making developers richer is not worth the environmental cost. We need more affordable housing, built more sustainably, on lands not already protected, lands that are not as ecologically and agriculturally significant.

Affordable housing for current residents and for newcomers is something all reasonable people want. However, instead of building on current and future Greenbelt lands, it would be far wiser for the government to use land already designated for development, as well as redeveloping abandoned properties such as business offices, to create housing that is specifically designed and legislated to be more affordable.

Furthermore, as Green Leader Mike Schreiner was quoted as saying, opening these sections of the Greenbelt sets a dangerous precedent. "Once you start saying protected land can be developed, you can engage in speculation on protected land. So it’s going to make that land unaffordable for farming because farmers are never going to be able to purchase land that is being valued for (potential) development.”

From all perspectives aside from the financial benefit to developers, is a bad decision to build on the Greenbelt. The possibility of building on these protected farmlands and natural habitats should not even be considered, and it is shocking that you have even proposed it.

Please show your conscience, integrity, and foresight by continuing to protect the Ontario Greenbelt in perpetuity.