The Ontario government has officially removed environmental protections from about 2,995 hectares of Greenbelt land in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) despite consultations indicating “broad opposition” to the plan.
On December 14, Cabinet approved two regulations enacting its controversial plan to remove land from 15 different areas of the Greenbelt and Oak Ridges Moraine: a vast 810,000-hectare area of farmland, forest and wetlands that stretches from Niagara Falls to Peterborough which is permanently off limits. to development
The move came just 10 days after the end of a 30-day public consultation process which, in the government’s own words, drew widespread negative feedback from citizens, municipalities, conservation authorities, environmental organisations, farming groups and communities indigenous
The government published its analysis of the results of the more than 27,000 submissions it received on the two regulatory changes on Wednesday.
“Overall, there was strong support for continued greenbelt protections and broad opposition to any removal or redesignation of land under the Greenbelt Plan or the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan. Numerous submissions stated that the proposal is contradictory to the vision and objectives of the Greenbelt Plan and called for the full withdrawal of the proposal,” the government said.
“No changes were made to the proposal as a result of the public consultation.”
Some municipalities, including Clarington, Pickering and Niagara Region, said the proposed removals were in line with previous requests they had made, while Wellington, Erin, Puslinch and Niagara Region asked to remove additional areas. Meanwhile, Hamilton, Toronto, Mississauga, Georgina, Halton Region, Oakville and Brampton opposed the government’s plan.
The homebuilding industry, meanwhile, was supportive.
“It’s a complete and utter betrayal of Ontarians,” said Marit Stiles, leader-elect of the Ontario NDP.
“The fact that this government is moving forward just 10 days after these consultations ended is a real indication that they had no intention of stopping for a moment with this terrible plan.”
The province says it chose lands for removal because they are adjacent to existing urban areas, such as this area in King Township. (Yan Theoret/CBC)
Paving of parts of the Greenbelt to install 50,000 homes
In its decision, the government said opening up land for housing would lead to the construction of 50,000 new homes, part of its plan to build 1.5 million homes over the next decade to alleviate Ontario’s severe housing shortage.
But the government heard from housing advocates through public consultation that additional land is not needed to meet Ontario’s housing needs.
“While affordability was identified as a key priority for many, some respondents stated that densification of existing urban areas and the development of explicitly affordable housing should be the preferred approach to increasing supply of housing,” the government said.
“The cost of urban sprawl was a key concern for various interest groups.”
Phil Pothen, director of the Ontario program with Environmental Defence, says there is enough land available outside the Greenbelt to meet Ontario’s housing needs. (Phil Pothen’s website)
Phil Pothen, Ontario program director for the advocacy group Environmental Defence, said there is enough land to meet housing demand in existing neighborhoods and undeveloped areas known as “greenfields” that have already been designated for development. This point was also made by the Ford government’s Housing Affordability Task Force earlier this year.
“There is not the slightest hint of evidence or reason to expect that the demolition of Greenbelt land will do anything to reduce the housing shortage, let alone house prices,” Pothen said.
Well-established developers among Greenbelt land owners
As CBC News first reported, property registry and corporate records show several well-established developers are among the owners of the Greenbelt land being removed. Some of these developers have made financial donations to the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party or its politicians.
The CBC News analysis also revealed that several properties have been bought since the Ford government took office in 2018, including five parcels of land in King Township that were bought together in September for $80 million.
Ontario NDP Leader-elect Marit Stiles has written to the auditor general requesting a value-for-money audit that looks at how much real estate developers can benefit from the Ford government’s Greenbelt plan. (Andrew Lahodynskyj/The Canadian Press)
In the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Reserve in Pickering, the largest area to be cleared, CBC News identified 28 properties, totaling 718 hectares, owned by companies controlled by Silvio, Carlo and Michael De Gasperis. The brothers are part of a prominent Ontario developer family known for building single-family homes in planned subdivisions in the Greater Toronto Area.
“It’s clear that Doug Ford is not for the average person, who is just looking for an affordable place to call home in a community they want to live near where they work,” said Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner .
“This government doesn’t listen to the people and is in it for literally a handful of wealthy land speculators who will turn millions into billions.”
Municipal authorizations are required
Any project to build homes on former Greenbelt land must first go through the development approval process in the relevant municipality.
Victoria Podbielski, spokeswoman for Housing Minister Steve Clark, said the province expects to see significant progress in development approvals next year, with construction starting in 2025. It also expects at least 10 per cent of ‘these houses are “attainable/affordable”. .”
He said developers will have to produce plans for infrastructure such as stormwater management, roads, community centers, schools, hospitals and long-term care homes, along with other “tangible public benefits.”
“The government has been clear from the beginning that we will only move forward if these conditions are met. If we are not satisfied with the plans presented, the province is prepared to return the properties to the Greenbelt,” Podbielski said.
Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner has asked the province’s integrity commissioner to investigate whether any ethical standards were breached during the process, including whether anyone in the Ford government warned the developers in advance that the Greenbelt land could be opened up for development. Premier Doug Ford and Housing Minister Steve Clark have denied warning the developers. (Sabah Rahman/CBC)
Opposition parties and environmental groups have pledged to continue fighting to protect the green belt.
“They’re hoping that if they rip off the Band-Aid, there’s going to be this huge outpouring of public opposition, but the government is wrong about that,” Pothen said.
“This fire will keep burning.”
Premier Doug Ford and Housing Minister Steve Clark say opening up about 2,995 hectares of land in 15 Greenbelt areas will result in 50,000 new homes being built. (Presented by the Office of the Premier of Ontario)