I find it very troubling…

I find it very troubling that the Ford government is taking vast swaths of our Greenbelt to build new homes most of which will be unaffordable for the very people most in need of them. Moreover, there are lots of lands outside of the Greenbelt that could be used instead. In addition, since most immigrants and newcomers to Ontario as well as Ontarians in need of housing choose to live in developed urban areas, it would make far more sense to increase the density of these urban areas by changing exclusionary zoning laws to allow for more duplexes, triplexes and low rise dwellings and use vacant urban lands on which to build new homes. I lived in the UK as well as France for awhile. In Europe generally most residents are renters, not owners. Land is at such a premium in Europe that only the very rich can afford to own. Therefore, I would humbly submit that our society in Ontario needs a radical shift in our thinking concerning ownership, especially in urban areas. We need more rent controls to keep rents affordable. At the very least, we need more rental properties at affordable prices with incentives for landlords to increase construction of new rentals, renovations of existing properties to be used as rentals and more oversight of rental properties to ensure they are truly livable and affordable. Rentals are also important for residents while they save to put down payments on homes they might eventually wish to own. Finally, we must not be building on the Greenbelt for ecological reasons. The Greenbelt contains wetlands that keep downstream areas from flooding as well as providing habitat for many endangered species. We must not also be sacrificing valuable farmlands that we need and will need to feed ourselves.