I am deeply troubled by the…

I am deeply troubled by the passing of Bill 23 and the proposed amendments to the Greenbelt Plan.

Premier Ford promised over and over again to protect the Greenbelt, but his PC government has announced a plan to remove 7,400 acres of land from the Greenbelt claiming it’s necessary to solve the housing crisis. But it won’t solve the housing crisis. Bill 23 and the redesignation of Greenbelt lands will only facilitate car-centred developments and high-cost housing, rather than affordable homes in sustainable communities. With this legislation, municipal residents will be subsidizing developer profits by having to cover the costs of infrastructure for growth. And critically, this legislation compromises environmental protections and opens the door to land speculators and sprawl developers.

The very possibility of taking any land out of the Greenbelt would undermine its effectiveness as a buffer between sensitive greenspaces and the urban environment. Opening up the Greenbelt will degrade its ecological value in providing wildlife habitat, forest cover, surface water quality, and flood protection. Thousands of acres of land are currently available within Ontario’s existing urban boundaries and can easily accommodate growth over the next few decades without the need to destroy farmland or the Greenbelt.

I recognize there is a housing supply and affordability issue in Ontario, but Bill 23 and sacrificing the Greenbelt will not solve the problem. Sprawl does not create affordable housing — it leads to car dependency and higher property taxes. I want to see a focus on liveable, sustainable communities that offer a range of housing types for all income levels and needs. Most regions in Ontario already have enough land dedicated to development to meet their housing needs.

The Greenbelt belongs to all Ontarians. Hands off our Greenbelt!