The Ford Government is Making Amends

[continued from Political Missteps, and Broken Promises: How Ontario’s Greenbelt is Safe Again]

With the Greenbelt situation in Ontario continuing to develop, there are new steps being taken by Doug Ford's government to attempt to right their wrongs. On Monday October 16th, Ontario’s new Housing Minister Paul Calandra introduced a bill that would protect and add land to the Greenbelt. The bill, if passed, would also prevent future governments from doing what the Progressive Conservatives attempted to do before reversing their decision. 

It’s important to note that the new land being added was an idea that has persevered through this still unfolding scandal. To compensate for the 3,000 hectares being removed from the protected area the Ford government originally planned to add 3,800 hectares to the Greenbelt. (The new land was supposed to comprise mainly agricultural properties and river valleys - which do not fully account for what would have been lost in terms of diversity of habitats.) Although, due to the mismanagement of the Greenbelt development and subsequent backtracking, the area now stands to gain the 3,800 hectares of protected area while also preserving the critical habitats found in the 3,000 hectares previously slated for development. 

The main purpose of the bill introduced by Calandra is to preserve the Greenbelt. However, the legislation also serves a secondary purpose: to shield the Ontario government from litigation by developers who lost out on profits due to the shifting land protections. With investors unhappy and land speculators doing what they do, opposition parties in the province’s government are calling for the premier to place conservation easements over the entirety of the Greenbelt. With the land in these easements it would ensure the area remains undeveloped for years to come while also sending a strong message to investors to back off.

The Greenbelt may be safe for the time being. However, there is still something called a “Greenbelt review”, in which every 10 years the government reviews the region and decides on changes to be made. The next review was not scheduled for another 2 years but Doug Ford decided in September to begin the process early. With a new review in the very near future it remains to be seen what will happen to the Greenbelt, but minister Paul Calandra assured the public the process would be conducted by an “impartial, non-partisan group of experts in conservation, agricultural and environmentalism”. This gives some hope that the protected land will be in the hands of experts instead of politicians, but only time will tell. 

In the meantime, things may seem better but it’s not over yet and Calandra's bill has yet to be passed. Even once the legislation is enacted there will still be plenty of work that will need to be done, from pushing for conservation easements to consulting experts if development proceeds. In the end, if development and planning continue it is important that it is done by experts so that lands that need to be protected, like critical habitat for endangered species, are preserved.

SOURCE:

The Narwhal. https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-greenbelt-reversal-bill/