Ontario's Green Party Leader Urging Province to Keep Hands off Greenbelt

Mike Schreiner has introduced three private member's bills to restrict development in the Greenbelt area

Ontario's Green Party leader is proposing some bills to protect Ontario's Greenbelt. 

Yesterday, Mike Schreiner proposed three private member's bills targeting the province's plans for housing development in the area. 

The bills are:

• No More Highways in the Greenbelt Act, 2023, which looks to prohibit the construction of any new highways in the Greenbelt area;
• No More Pits or Quarries in the Greenbelt Act, 2023, which looks to prohibit the construction and expansion of any new or existing pits or quarries in the Greenbelt area;
• Hands Off the Greenbelt Act, 2023, which would restrict the government from removing land from the Greenbelt, in the future and retroactively to the date that the Ford government filed a regulation removing protected lands in December 2022.

We spoke to Schreiner, who says it's absolutely necessary to protect the Greenbelt. 

"It's vital to protect the farmland that feeds us and contributes to our $50 billion farming economy, and it's vital to protect the wetland, grasslands and forests that are needed to help clean our drinking water and help protect us from extreme weather event like flooding."

Schreiner notes he thinks a better way to supply more housing would be to change the rules surrounding existing urban boundaries , to allow for the expansion of existing multiplexes and apartments.

He says this would help keep more people in communities that they want to live in. 

"Let's get buildings in communities where people want to live, homes that they can actually afford that are close to where people live, work and play, and let's not impose the high cost of commuting onto young families."

Schreiner says he's heard from local organizations such as the Preservation of Agricultural Land Societym who are concerned the province's plans could have an adverse effect on Niagara's economy. 

"They're saying how vital it is to protect tinder fruit land in Niagara, not only for Niagara's regional economy, but also for the province. Over 90% of the peaches and grapes grown in Ontario are grown in Niagara, and we need to protect that farmland."

Last year, the Ford government announced plans to develop more housing on parts of the Greenbelt, as part of an effort to build over a million new homes over the next decade. 

Housing Minister Steve Clark has previously said the plans will help address the issues of housing supply and affordability. 

However, Schreiner says a better way to increase affordable housing would be for the government to provide more support to non-profit and co-op housing.