© Lora Denis
November 30, 2022–Ontario Nature Staff
Campaigns and advocacy•Greenbelt and Greenway•Land-use planning
Despite repeated promises that there would be no removal of lands from the Greenbelt, the Government of Ontario is planning to carve 7,400 acres out of the Greenbelt anyway. The proposal has shocked and outraged Ontarians of all stripes, and for good reason. Broken promises are of course offensive in their own right. And so is a ...
November 10, 2022–Anne Bell
Greenbelt and Greenway•Habitat•Land-use planning•Water•Wetlands
Green heron and midland painted turtle, Mud Lake, Britannia Conservation Area © Adam Mooz CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
On October 25th, the Government of Ontario tabled Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, an omnibus bill proposing sweeping changes to the province’s natural heritage and land use planning legislation and policy. Overall, Bill 23 and associated policies remove and weaken environmental protections and diminish the role of Ontarians in land use ...
August 11, 2022–Zachary Pothier
Conservation News•Conservation Authorities•Greenbelt and Greenway•Protected Places
Laurel Creek Conservation Area © Carl Hiebert / Grand River Conservation Authority
In southern Ontario, municipalities and Conservation Authorities (CAs) play an essential role in conserving natural areas and greenspace, vital in conserving biodiversity and enhancing climate change resilience. Largely unrecognized, however, is how their efforts are contributing to Canada’s ambitious Target 1 plan to protect 25 per cent of our lands and waters by 2025, and ...
Toronto skyline © Rick Harris CC BY-SA 2.0
As the June 2 provincial election approaches, affordable housing is understandably emerging as a lightning-rod issue, with rents and purchase prices soaring. Unfortunately and unfairly, the issue is being used to justify further encroachment by highways and sprawl development on natural areas and farmland. Can we meet the housing needs of current and future Ontarians ...
The former mayor of Toronto, David Crombie, once gave me invaluable insight about how we view nature. He said, “We look at green spaces and nature as places with potential. Potential for housing, potential for strip malls, potential for highways – not as if they already have a purpose. We need to recognize they aren’t ...
Laurel Creek Conservation Area © Carl Hiebert / Grand River Conservation Authority