The Ontario Greenbelt is 2 million acres of protected land that is a source of clean air, water, and local food, and biodiversity sink in Ontario, Canada. Greenbelt was created in 2005 to prevent urban sprawl and the growing population from encroaching on farmland, preserve the precious ecosystem and preserve biodiversity. These acres of protected land include wetlands, watersheds, grasslands, and forests.
The benefits of Greenbelt include:
Flood Protection
Managing Stormwater
Absorbing Rainwater
Prevent Stress and Diseases during Drought
Carbon Dioxide Sink
Protecting at-risk species
Source of Clean Drinking Water
“The Greenbelt safeguards the vital resources that clean our air and water, reduce flood risks, provide a home for wildlife, and ensure our communities have green spaces to explore.”
Doug Ford’s government wants to take portions of this land, after protecting it for 18 years, for development. They claim to add additional land into the Greenbelt for the portions they take out but if you notice closely the land they are adding is flood-prone areas or areas where development is not possible anyways. Plus this defeats the purpose of why originally Greenbelt Act was introduced in the first place. These changes are being initiated without public consultation or to say the least with minimum public consultation.
Don't get me wrong I understand the issue of housing, I understand there is a need for more housing and more development and I am also amongst those people who wonder if I can ever afford a home but cutting down areas of Greenbelt is not the solution to the housing crisis. There's already enough land available that has been approved or is suitable for development without touching the Greenbelt. The main issue contributing to the housing crisis is not the availability of land but rather making the development process much easier, and much faster so affordable houses can be built sooner on the already available land. Adding more labor and solving zoning issues. The other way to tackle this crisis is to come up with innovative ways to utilize already existing urban land. This includes innovative architecture, better spatial utilization, and re-imagining what houses look like, allocating land already available for development to housing instead of things like casinos, malls, and other non-essential commercial developments. Converting unused existing commercial spaces to affordable housing.
Another interesting fact to notice here is that the media outlets and independent reporters have uncovered that big beneficiaries invested in Greenbelt land even before the idea of using some Greenbelt portion for development was introduced which shows the motive is not public interest, not solving the housing crisis but for some people to make money.
So, what can be done? We need to keep the conversation going, we need to reach out to our government and let them know we are not okay with using Greenbelt and need it to stay protected. We need to tell our government that we know there are better and climate-friendly ways to build affordable housing and we do not want it at the cost of losing the Greenbelt.
The latest update includes the Ministry of Environment halting any changes to the Greenbelt Act to review the changes suggested by conducting environmental studies. We need to keep a close eye on the issue and make sure we fight for the protected land to protect our future!
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