Environmental Defence Canada - Land swaps would be the death of the Greenbelt

Environmental Defence Canada Land swaps would be the death of the Greenbelt November 4, 2022 Introduction Today, the Honourable Steven Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, tabled a proposal to remove lands from the Greenbelt and designate a mix of lands, some which are already protected, as Greenbelt lands in their place. [...] To begin, it is important to acknowledge the vision for the Greenbelt, as set out in the Greenbelt Plan: The Greenbelt is a broad band of permanently protected land which: • Protects against the loss and fragmentation of the agricultural land base and supports agriculture as the predominant land use; • Gives permanent protection to the natural heritage and water resource systems that sustain ecolo. [...] Key requirements for protecting the Greenbelt No land removals The land currently in the Greenbelt must remain in the Greenbelt. [...] Therefore these islands of development would need to be linked to towns and cities outside of the Greenbelt and a spider-web of development would begin to appear among the rest of the protected lands • Islands in a sea of development: If the provincial government were to propose to ensure the Greenbelt does not get smaller in total area when new development is allowed within it, they would have to. [...] • Harm to both farm communities and ecosystems: A spider web of subdivisions, roads and factories in the Greenbelt would reduce the ability of wild animals to migrate and interbreed, plant seeds to disperse and for forests and fields to clean our air and water and absorb the rain.