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Defending the Land - Protecting the Future

So you thought we’d made progress? Us too!

But the Provincial Gov’t continues it’s attacks on Ontario’s environment.

Now with Bill C212, the Ford government has created a back door to develop the greenbelt.

Highlights of Bill C212, Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024 include:

Building Highways Faster Act, 2024 — The purpose of the Act is to expedite the construction of priority highway projects, which, as defined in the Act, are the Highway 413 Project, the Bradford Bypass Project, the Garden City Skyway Bridge Twinning Project and any other projects that are prescribed by regulation.
Highways 413 Act, 2024 — provides an exemption from the Environmental Assessment Act for enterprises, activities, proposals, plans and programs for or related to Highway 413.
Amendment to the Highway Traffic Act — municipalities require Ministry approval before municipalities may construct bicycle lanes in certain circumstances (this is what’s making the news!)

Check out Tim Gray’s blog post about Bill C212 on Environmental Defence’s website.

“How Ontario’s new bill hits the gas on Highway 413 and puts the brakes on bike lanes” Emma McIntosh in the Narwhal

Sign up to get involved and stay informed about next steps to stop Bill C212.

Check out Environmental Defence’s Map of threatened areas.

and sign up to join Greenbelt Guardians today

Why we are defending the land

Loss of Farmland

Ontario has lost some of the best agricultural land in the world in the past century, and we continue to lose over 319 acres a day – our farmland is being used to create shopping malls, highways, and suburbs. Now another 37,600+ acres of previously protected land is threatened by development (which could feed up to 80,000 people a year depending on dietary choices).

Climate Change

We need to drastically reduce our carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and get to net-zero by 2050 to have any chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change. Suburban sprawl increases carbon emissions by increasing car usage, decreasing public transportation, and the amount of energy required for heating and cooling such large, detached homes (which are less energy efficient than densification).
Also, land is a carbon sink — helping to regulate the planet’s temperature and store carbon. In the past 10 years, “land-based ecosystems absorbed around 30 per cent of the carbon emissions generated by human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels.” — so we need to protect the land from development.

Flooding & Environmental Impacts

The protected Greenbelt lands and Conservation Authorities were established mainly to protect Ontarians from the risk of flooding. With the recent legislative changes, and opening up these areas to development, more flooding is guaranteed. The suburban sprawl from further development will also increase air pollution due to car usage and the use of natural gas to heat homes. Already air pollution contributes to the loss of 6,600 Ontarians every year.

Food Security

Our part of the world, in the Great Lakes bioregion, will be a climate refuge — meaning that we will be shielded from the worst severe weather effects of climate change. As other parts of the world encounter climate change and lose their capacity to grow food easily — or at all — we need to be able to feed people. We need to preserve our farmland, and rather than supporting profit margins for developers, we need to support growing food for our fellow human beings.

Higher Taxes

Building and maintaining the infrastructure needed for sprawling development will come at huge costs. The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) estimates that it will cost cities over $5 billion over the next decade, paid for by the taxpayer.