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© Lora Denis
November 30, 2022–Ontario Nature Staff
Halton Region, Greenbelt
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 government that seems to care more about lining the pockets of developers and land speculators than it does about the health and well-being of the rest of us. People have every reason to be angry about the attack on the Greenbelt. The government’s excuse – that the land is needed to solve the housing crisis – is untrue. The amount of land already designated for development far exceeds what is needed to meet long-range housing targets. That includes 86,500 acres within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area alone.
What hasn’t got much attention amidst all the hullabaloo are the particular wetlands, woodlands, rivers and farmland that would be paved over for no good reason. To give you a sense of what is at stake, we highlight below 10 of the unique and special places that would be forever degraded or lost should this dreadful proposal go forward.
The government’s proposal defies belief. Ontarians are facing the ever-accelerating crises of biodiversity loss and climate change, to say nothing of the ongoing loss of 319 acres of farmland per day. Yet the government can think of nothing better to do than rip holes in the Greenbelt.
It’s time to hold the government to its promises. Hands off the Greenbelt!
The deadline for comment through the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO #019-6216 and #019-6217) is December 4, 2022.
Wolf Lake © Ryan Mariotti
Hands off the Greenbelt, after all none of us truly owns a piece of land, all we are doing is holding it I trust for future generations
Please save the greenbelt for my grandchildren
Please save the greenbelt for my grandchildren
My Father was Reeve of Trafalgar township and very active on the conservation committee. I will always support the retention of green belt lands. Ruth Marshall Rae
I have commented previously on the Ontario government’s insane plan to destroy a large swathe of greenbelt expressing my dismay that they would even consider such an alarming ruin of one of our main defences against climate change: Precious, life-preserving natural areas.
Frightening legislation. The loss of these woodlands, wetlands, farmlands, corridors, is unimaginable.
Your work to preserve the Greenbelt is appreciated by those of us who wish we could do more.
A map showing the Greenbelt area affected would have made your description clearer.
I am disgusted This will not only protected land that is part of the food chain but also endangers protected species. There is sufficient land to build houses where there is no danger to the environment
I will never vote for this group and hope that now people will see that this party are corrupt
This planned assault on Ontario’s natural environment and its farmlands by Doug Ford and his political and development co-conspirators is indeed infuriating. I hope the Ford government will be legally challenged on this, and the battle against its destructive vision fought for as long as it takes to defeat it.
Definitely do not want endless suburbia, its already bad enough.