'It is a victory': Markham activist applauds federal government’s intervention in Greenbelt development
Rouge National Urban Park environmental study takes aim at province's housing plan under Bill 23
Yorkregion.com
March 24, 2023
Irene Wong
The battlefront against the province’s obstinate determination to build housing in the Greenbelt has been extended to Markham on March 21.
In the Rouge National Urban Park in Markham, Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault announced a new environmental study on the impacts of housing developments planned by the Ford government near the park.
“The government of Ontario has officially removed environmental protections for around 3,000 hectares of Greenbelt land in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area. The Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve adjacent to this part is the largest area that has been removed. Analysis by Parks Canada suggests that there is a probable risk of irreversible harm to wildlife, natural ecosystems and agricultural landscapes within Rouge National Urban Park,” said Guilbeault.
The objectives of the study are to understand the potential effects, including cumulative effects of past, ongoing and potential future development and integrity of the park.
Guilbeault made the message to the provincial government clear: “You don't need to build development on the Greenbelt.”
He reiterated the concern for housing crisis: “We believe in housing. But it's not about putting housing units everywhere. We have to be reasonable. We have to be strategic about it. And that's not what's being proposed right now here in Ontario, unfortunately.”
Just before the announcement, Premier Doug Ford said in Vaughan that he was “not too concerned.” He said the federal government’s environmental study shouldn't slow down plans to develop housing on the Greenbelt.
“It shouldn't slow down our development plans, it's adjacent, it's not right there, but good luck to them,” Ford said.
Guilbeault disagreed with Ford's comments. “I think these things really matter and I profoundly disagree with Premier Ford on this.”
“I have in the past used powers that are at my disposal as Environment and Climate Change Minister to stop housing development that would have severe impacts on species at risk,” added Guilbeault.
The Ontario government’s Bill 23 aims to speed up housing construction to get 1.5 million new homes built over the next 10 years. The More Homes Built Faster Act allows the province to reallocate sections of Ontario's Greenbelt and protected lands for what the government is saying will be affordable housing and community development.
According to Stop Sprawl York Region, Bill 23 could remove five parcels of protected land around Major MacKenzie Drive and McCowan Road in Markham and three around McCowan Road and 19th Avenue in Markham and Whitchurch-Stouffville from protection, leaving them eligible for development.
Markham community activist Shanta Sundarason, who took the lead in the Greenbelt protest aiming at the provincial government, said, “The Ford government must reverse the decision to give developers permission to send bulldozers into the Greenbelt.”
She said that Guilbeault’s announcement “is a victory for everyone in Ontario who has taken action to protect the Greenbelt in perpetuity.”
“Ontario’s Greenbelt, created in 2005, has a special place in the hearts and minds of Ontarians. Residents understand that greenbelts are created as guarantees to protect the environment and farmland from profit-driven developers,” said Sundarason.
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