I wish to voice my concern…

I wish to voice my concern as a citizen of Ontario about the expropriation of Greenbelt lands. First of all, this expropriation contravenes Premier Doug Ford's promise to the people of this province that he would not touch the Greenbelt.

I believe that we need to increase the supply of homes in response to the current housing crisis but the crisis is one of affordability -- not land access. Sprawl will not solve our short-term or long-term problems. The government should focus on building on already available lands, and build up not out, particularly close to existing regional public transit. Irreplaceable farmland in the Golden Horseshoe, essential for long-term food security, is as necessary to our future as housing, and must not be expropriated. It can never be returned to us. Swapping such land for other land elsewhere, particularly without any public consultation, is not due process.

Climate change risks exposing all of us, whether we live in urban or rural areas, to more flooding and more intense flooding. Greenbelt wetlands reduce flood risk by soaking up water and have essential value to us as wetlands -- they're not just land sitting around waiting to be built on.

Nor does the plan to expropriate and build on Greenbelt land address how infrastructure will be built and paid for to support this new sprawl of housing, a form of housing stock that is in the long-term unsustainable.

Tearing apart the Greenbelt is dangerous and increases environmental risks for all of Southern Ontario. I urge the government to keep its promise to protect the Greenbelt. Focus on plans to build more densely in urban areas, particular areas with strong transit infrastructure. This is the housing and environmental future we need.