Federal government deserves a say in Doug Ford’s Greenbelt plans

It should come as no surprise to Premier Ford that federal Minister of the Environment Steven Guilbeault is taking an interest in the Ontario government’s push to open parts of the Greenbelt for development.

Responding to questions from The Narwhal last month, Guilbeault said he is worried about what’s happening with the Greenbelt and that developing Greenbelt land “flies in the face of everything we’re trying to do in terms of being better prepared for the impacts of climate change.”

The Ontario government has made sweeping legislative changes under the guise of “building more homes faster.” Despite the advice of its own Housing Affordability Task Force, which reported there is more than enough land to build on, already zoned and ready for development, the provincial government has removed significant parcels of land from the Greenbelt.

Ford and his gang seem to have forgotten that their federal counterparts might object to their plans. The largest parcel of land removed from the Greenbelt comes from the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve, which is adjacent to Rouge Urban National Park.

As reported in the Toronto Star in December, Parks Canada warned that removing this preserve from the Greenbelt could cause “irreversible harm to wildlife, natural ecosystems and agricultural landscapes” of Rouge National Park and affect the habitats of dozens of endangered species. They added that the province had not consulted with the federal government which was required as part of an earlier agreement.

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