Proposed amendments to the…

Proposed amendments to the Greenbelt Area boundary regulation

To Whom It May Concern,

Summary point: I do NOT agree with this proposal and feel it does not solve the housing affordability and supply crisis in Ontario.

In 2005, Dalton McGuinty protected 2 million acres of land which included farmland (thereby protecting food production and security) and environmental habitats, and to encourage denser development by limiting suburban sprawl.

The proposed plan will make this greenbelt land unaffordable for many farmers as it will now be available for developers to purchase. With developers purchasing these lands it would be a detriment to the environment (by removing wildlife) and in all likelihood be used to create more free standing homes (which this proposal does not to make sure these homes would be affordable for Canadians). Many experts state that this plan is not building the right types of homes or the necessary volumes of homes needed for Ontario housing (and more urban sprawl would require transportation infrastructure and utilities all for a small number of homes). These experts state the more appropriate solution would be creating denser living areas and living with the environment (and would tackle the public health issue of a sedentary lifestyle from urban sprawl) and that building 1.5 million more homes could be achieved with the already designated land for new housing (by building more dense housing infrastructure).

On Feb 12, 2018, this Premier stated that back room deals would be a thing of the past and stated verbatim in the media "unequivocally we won't touch the greenbelt, unlike other governments that don't listen to the people I've heard it loud and clear, people don't want me touching the green belt, we won't touch the green belt, we'll figure out how to clean up this housing mess and this housing crisis that we're facing in a different fashion".

It is most concerning that several Greenbelt properties have already been sold to developers after the current Premier came to power, they purchased these properties very cheaply and would be able to develop that land for incredible profit. It is also concerning that nine of the developers that standing to benefit the most from this proposed change have donated significant sums to the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, totalling more than $572,000 since 2014.

I do NOT agree with this proposal and feel it does not solve the housing affordability and supply crisis in Ontario.

Sources:

(1) Developers who bought Ontario Greenbelt land linked to Ford government: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-sales-of-greenbelt-land-…
(2) Coalition slams plan to build housing in Ontario’s Greenbelt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ySuCfuR1RM
(3) Six developers bought Greenbelt land after Ford came to power. Now, they stand to profit: https://thenarwhal.ca/ford-ontario-greenbelt-cuts-developers/