People power keeps the pressure on Ford government over Greenbelt plans

More than 100 residents packed the Old Town Hall in Newmarket, Ont., Thursday night to rally against the Ontario government’s plan to build houses on a nearby part of the protected Greenbelt.

The meeting was one of a growing number of community gatherings aimed at reversing the Ford government’s decision to remove 7,400 hectares from the existing Greenbelt and turn it over to developers for housing projects. Part of the land being removed is farmland that will be paved over west of Newmarket in King City, about 40 kilometres north of Toronto.

Attendees at Thursday night’s meeting said the government has done very little consultation to determine whether Ontarians agree with the decision. They hope public pressure will convince the government to change its mind and leave the Greenbelt untouched.

Franz Hartmann, a co-ordinator for the Alliance for a Liveable Ontario, pointed out that public opinion indicates most people value the Greenbelt as an important environmental legacy. Polls taken since the Ford government’s announcement indicate that most people oppose the decision, Hartmann said.

“I think that’s probably one of the reasons the government didn’t do a lot of public consultation because they would have heard over and over again people saying, ‘Why are you doing this?’”

An online survey conducted by SPR Associates of Toronto found that of 6,400 Ontario residents polled, more than 80 per cent want the government to repeal Bill 23, which makes significant changes to the province's environmental protections in order to fast-track housing development, and undo its changes to Greenbelt protections.

Canada’s National Observer asked the province’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing about the size and exact location of the land to be removed from the Greenbelt in Newmarket and King City. The ministry did not respond to this question.

The Ford government passed Bill 23 late last year. Part of the government’s push to build 1.5 million new homes across the province in the coming decade involves building on parts of the protected Greenbelt. The Greenbelt is a swath of protected land surrounding the Greater Toronto Area that includes farmland, forests, wetlands, rivers and lakes.

The province’s plan involves removing 15 parcels of land, totalling about 7,400 acres, from the edge of the Greenbelt. In return, the government says it will add another 9,400 acres to the Greenbelt elsewhere.

Some experts argue swapping one parcel of protected land out for another doesn't lead to the same environmental benefits, since the health of animals and their habitat depends on factors like the local climate, the water available in a given area and how that ecosystem connects to others nearby.

“These changes to the Greenbelt will build a minimum of 50,000 new homes in fast-growing communities while leading to an overall expansion of the Greenbelt by approximately 2,000 acres,” said Nazaneen Baqizada, spokesperson for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing of Ontario.

“In addition to building desperately needed affordable and attainable homes for our rapidly growing province, this initiative will provide significant public benefits, including hundreds of millions of dollars in new public infrastructure, including transit, hospitals, long-term care homes, parks, roads and schools.”

Baqizada said developments will require planning approvals from the municipality, and the province will require that environmentally sensitive areas are set aside and protected before any construction begins. “Our commitment remains that these lands will be returned to the Greenbelt if these projects do not move forward within the next two years,” she added.

Newmarket area residents who attended Thursday’s meeting say the government’s plans will negatively impact the environment and agriculture. They view the Greenbelt as an important environmental legacy and point out the land is currently used by farmers who make a living growing food that Ontarians eat.

Hartmann said the provincial government is wrong to build houses on protected land. “All of the data says there is more than enough land already set aside for development in cities across the Greater Golden Horseshoe,” he said.

“We don’t need to take land out of the Greenbelt. We don’t need to set aside farmland for development. That's the exact wrong thing to do.”

Claire Malcolmson, executive director of the environmental advocacy group Rescue Lake Simcoe Association, pointed out the Greenbelt supplies a lot of the Greater Golden Horseshoe — a region in southern Ontario home to 10 million people — and Lake Simcoe with clean water, filtration and recreational spaces.

“Everybody loves being in nature and it all feels good, but there is also the value of respecting and protecting the life of the non-human.”

Malcolmson said the government’s housing plan increases sprawl and simply serves to enrich landowners.

John Taylor, mayor of Newmarket, told Canada’s National Observer he believes the Greenbelt should be protected and said it is noteworthy that such a large group of residents is devoting time to debate how to build better communities and protect the environment.

The Greenbelt is environmentally important and is “sort of the lungs of (the Greater Toronto Area),” said Taylor.

This story was produced in partnership with Journalists for Human Rights for the Afghan Journalists-in-Residence program funded by the Meta Journalism Project.