Ontario does indeed have a…

Ontario does indeed have a housing crisis; however, the crisis is not just one of supply, but affordability. We are also in an accelerating environmental crisis, characterized by, among other things, climate change and loss of green cover and natural habitats.

For all of the reasons listed above, the Greenbelt proposal is misguided and harmful. The housing crisis has been carefully analyzed by experts in the field, who have argued convincingly that it should be addressed through densification in urban areas and the creation of rental housing that is scaled to income and close to public transit and other services. The Greenbelt proposal would instead involve the needless conversion of open land to yet more low density, car-centric suburban development, and would be highly unlikely to address the affordability issues that driving more and more people away from the GTA.

I am also deeply disturbed by information that has emerged recently that points to the possibility that there may have been collusion between the Ontario government and developers, specifically the purchase of large blocks of Greenbelt land by developers in advance of the public announcement of this proposal. It is in the public interest that there should be a full and transparent investigation of these accusations before any proposal is considered.