Is a protected area still a protected area if it’s not protected?

Farmlands, wetlands...highways? We’re here to help you make sense of the goings-on around Southern Ontario’s Greenbelt

Thenarwhal.ca
Nov. 18, 2021
Arik Ligeti

Southern Ontario's two-million-acre Greenbelt, which includes Rattlesnake Point in Milton, is facing increasing development pressures.
Photo: Marcin Skalij / Unsplash
The thing about a protected area is … it’s supposed to be an area protected from development.

But that’s not how things are going just north of Toronto, where a regional council just voted in favour of a developer’s request to redesignate 1,400 acres of Greenbelt farmland.

While York Region’s chief planner says this will open up more possibilities for parkland development (think golf courses or hiking trails), one local councillor tells reporter Fatima Syed that this marks “the start of the infringement on the Greenbelt.” In other words, the amendment could open up the possibility of residential or other higher-intensity uses.

The final approval decision rests with the province, which has said it wants to increase the size of the two-million-acre Greenbelt even as it seeks to build a pair of highways that would cut through the protected area.

Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass -- both the subjects of fanfare at Ford government press conferences this week -- would damage more than 220 wetlands and disrupt the habitats of at least 10 species-at-risk. Reporter Emma McIntosh has all those details.

There’s no doubt: the Greenbelt is under pressure. That’s why we’re holding a very special event, on Nov. 25 at 6 p.m. ET, to help you make sense of the goings-on around what’s known as Southern Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe. This also happens to be your chance to meet all the stars in our brand new Ontario bureau. Go here to sign up for this free Zoom discussion -- and pass the word on to your friends in the province.

It’s no secret that Canada needs to protect its forests if the country wants to meet its commitment to go carbon neutral by 2050 -- a pledge reiterated by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the ongoing COP26 conference in Glasgow.

The effort to fast-track development is just one way the Progressive Conservative government has sought to reshape Ontario’s environmental policy. Emma and Fatima have put together a running tally of Doug Ford’s not-so-great-for-the-environment moves, from dismantling the province’s cap-and-trade system to watering down endangered species laws. They’ll be adding to the piece regularly, so if there are policy changes you think should be on there, send us a note.

You can expect our Ontario bureau to keep digging into the government’s track record as the province lurches toward a June 2022 election that could have big consequences for the Greenbelt and beyond.