Harmer: The fight over the indefensible Greenbelt land grab is not over

I am sure if Premier Davis were alive he would be fighting alongside Ontarians against Ontario’s anti-environment Bill 23 and Greenbelt land grab.
From the Toronto Star,
By Sarah Harmer Contributor, Wed., Dec. 21, 2022

I grew up on the Niagara Escarpment, the backbone of southern Ontario’s Greenbelt. In 2006, I received the inaugural “Friend of The Greenbelt” award from the Greenbelt Foundation for the community work I was doing to raise awareness about gravel mining and its risks to drinking water and wildlife on the Niagara Escarpment.

The following year, I was honoured to pass on the award to former premier Bill Davis, who created the Niagara Escarpment Plan, Canada’s first environmental land-use plan. As a Conservative, Premier Davis established a legacy of conservation to benefit future generations. Successive premiers built on that legacy. I am sure that if Davis were alive today he would be fighting alongside Ontarians against the current government’s anti-environment Bill 23 and Greenbelt land grab.

One of the things that makes the Greenbelt so special is how popular it is, and understandably so. It protects our drinking water, air quality, food security, controls flooding, and acts as a vital carbon sink that will only increase in value as the climate crisis worsens. It’s a place people rely on for mental and physical well-being and there is strong support for its protection.

So who is asking for new permissions to destroy its integrity and remove long established, science-based protocols to evaluate endangered species habitats like wetlands? Industry interests like the Ontario Home Builders Association (OHBA) and the Ontario Stone Sand and Gravel Association (OSSGA) have been lobbying the provincial government to remove environmental protections for years.

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