On behalf of my children.

I am in full support of the Terms of Reference for the proposed Rouge National Urban Park Study.

I must begin by applauding the Federal Government for intervening and initiating an unbiased Environmental Impact Assessment, holding the Government of Ontario accountable with respect to their proposal to urbanize protected greenspaces within the Province of Ontario.  

the government of Ontario's proposal to build on protected lands within our Greenbelt is inherently wrong. This proposal presents both the obvious and the highly complicated detrimental effects to our natural environment and the many species at risk within them, as well as the fragmentation of the few remaining large tracts of Greenbelt lands in Ontario. These lands are among the last areas within the Province that hold the bulk of biodiversity in Ontario and we cannot afford to destroy them.  On the part of our Premier, to say that a project will move forward despite the fact that an Enviromental Assessment is not yet complete is extremely disconcerting.  Everyone must be held accountable.

Four years ago, the Ontario Government's plans to carve up the Greenbelt had to be scrapped in the face of overwhelming public opposition.  At that time, Permier Ford said: “The people have spoken. We won’t touch the Greenbelt. That’s it.”  In light of the Ontario Government's "new" proposal, these comments make me question whether Ford's promises are worthless, or simply our Greenspaces?

I wonder how we, as a Nation, plan to continue to feed our growing population in future years as existing agricultural areas are paved over.  We are blessed as Ontarians to hold the top 2% of most fertile and ecologically valuable land in the world.  Desertification of these lands in the name of urban expansion is unconscionable and to move agricultural lands further North is ecologically unfeasible.  The effects of paving over these lands also include irreversible changes to local hydrological cycles.

Sadly, we are not the only nation that is living unsustainably.  We cannot rely on future food imports to fulfil the demands of our population, especially when considering the ecological and economic ramifications of global transportation of food goods, as well as growing concerns over global Climate Change.  It is extremely upsetting that we have the knowledge and resources to lead sustainable lives, yet we choose not to.

I strongly question why the proposed 1.5 million new homes slated to be built in Ontario over the next 10 years are not being constructed using sustainable practices, including clean energy and net zero standards?

It breaks my heart that my children (8 and 10) are fearful that they will not have natural world to enjoy when they grow up.  That their generation might be the last to see the many endangered floral and faunal species that call our Greenbelt home.  They cry because they are scared that the air they breath will make them sick and that it is already unsafe to swim in many of our lakes.  They do not understand why our government is not protecting Green spaces for their generation and for future generations.  

Please help limit urban sprawl to urban areas that are not adjacent to or built upon our greatest natural resources.  We need to proactively defend the preservation of Greenbelt lands.  Sasly,  I saw what happened to the northern extremities of the Rouge National Urban Park when homes were built on these lands: any signs of the Rouge headwaters were paved over long ago, permanently erased from the landscape; now there are only houses as far as the eye can see.

In conclusion, I support biodiversity, clean-air, existing agricultural sites, and our Greenbelt, without which we cannot survive.  I support life.