NOW Magazine
Why Doug Ford can’t be trusted to protect the Greenbelt
The province s record on the environment has been to run roughshod over protections meant to keep developers in check By Enzo DiMatteo
Photo credit: Greenbelt Foundation
We were expecting big news on Wednesday that the Ontario government is planning to expand the Greenbelt – at least, that’s what the Toronto Star “exclusive” pumped out on Twitter suggested.
But what we got instead was an announcement from minister of municipal affairs Steve Clark that the Ford government will be holding a 60-day public consultation on “how to best expand the Greenbelt.”
This story is Part 2 of a series about the Ford government s use of ministerial zoning orders. Read Part 1 here.
In Pickering, Ont., a cluster of marshes and swamps south of Highway 401 has become an unexpected battleground, pitting job creation against environmental preservation.
The wetland of willow trees, silver maples and cattails, once protected from development by provincial rules, is now slated to become a warehouse attached to a nearby casino development.
Since 2018, Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government has used unappealable special orders to allow a host of powerful developers to build in a number of ecologically sensitive areas, bypassing the usual approval process.
Ontario plans to expand Greenbelt to include Paris Galt Moraine and GTA river lands
The Ontario government on Wednesday announced it hopes to expand the Greenbelt to include the Paris Galt Moraine and adding, expanding and further protecting urban river valleys.
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Environmental groups warn of possible influx of development in Ontario
January 14, 2021
WATERLOO REGION- “Did Doug Ford get bitten by a turtle as a child?”
This was one of the dozens of comments continually rolling during Environmental Defence’s online webinar with Ontario Nature, the Canadian Environmental Law Association and David Crombie, the former chair of the Greenbelt Council who resigned over the changes to the Conservation Authority Act at the end of last year.
The event was livestreamed this week and held to inform the public about the current state of Ontario’s environmental protections, what can be expected going forward and what citizens can do to protect their own local greenspaces.
Amid backlash over a controversial bill that gutted conservation authorities’ powers, the Ontario government is appointing a working group to advise it on how the changes should roll out.
The working group will be led by Conservation Halton president and CEO Hassaan Basit, an evolutionary biologist who has been critical of the changes to conservation authorities, calling them disappointing in a Dec. 14 email to his organization s supporters. The group’s work will begin in January, with new regulations rolling out in early 2021, Environment Minister Jeff Yurek announced Wednesday.
“As we move forward together, we want to build stronger relationships with conservation authorities so we can work together to ensure consistent best practices, good governance and appropriate accountability to best serve the people of Ontario,” Yurek said in a statement.