“Ontario’s Greenbelt was established to protect farmland, specialty crop, forests, wetlands, watersheds and communities. It also preserves cultural heritage and supports recreation and tourism in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe.” – – From St. Catharines Regional Councillor Haley Bateman’s motion to Niagara Regional Council to save our precious Greenbelt lands.
Contact your Niagara Regional Councillors and Urge Them to Support5 this Motions
A News Commentary by Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper
Posted September 18th, 2023 on Niagara At Large
Since this August’s bombshell reports from Ontario’s Auditor General and Ombudsman on the highly questionable deals members of the Ford government have made to sell off protected Greenbelt lands to powerful developers, we have had little to nothing about this growing scandal from Niagara Region’s chair, Jim Bradley, and most of the others sitting o9r doing whatever else they do on Niagara’s regional council.
St. Catharines Regional Councillor Haley Batement was the only other regional councillor who stood up and said she would vote no to Ford telling the Region who it should have as its Chair.
One of the all to few on the council who has raised the issue is St. Catharines Regional Councillor Haley Bateman, who let her fellow councillors know at a meeting in late August that she was going to be bringing a motion forward on the Greenbelt at this coming Thursday, September 21st’s meeting of Niagara Region’s council.
That motion echoes a recommendation Ontario Auditor Bonnie Lysyk made in her scathing report this past August – for Premier Doug Ford and his government to roll back land swaps in the Greenbelt that stand to haul in developers closetothe Ford government more than $8 billion dollars.
If you support protecting our precious food-growing lands and adjoining woodlands, wetlands and other natural resources in a Greenbelt that includes lands in Niagara, please contact and urge your members of Niagara Regional Council to support Haley Bateman’s motion.
To contact your members of Niagara Regional Council, please click on the following link for contact information – https://www.niagararegion.ca/government/council/profiles/default.aspx
Now here is St. Catharines Regional Councillor Haley Bateman’s motion dedicated to saving our Greenbelt for generations to come –
Whereas Ontario’s Greenbelt was established to protect farmland, specialty crop, forests, wetlands, watersheds and communities. It also preserves cultural heritage and supports recreation and tourism in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe.
Whereas Bill 135 The Greenbelt Act was mandated in 2005 states that it is to be reviewed every ten years. Making the first review in 2015 and the next review scheduled for 2025.
Whereas Niagara’s Official Plan, approved by the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs in 2022:
* outlines a comprehensive land use policy framework to guide growth and development within the region to the year 2051, including policies related to housing; infrastructure, natural environment, climate change, and agriculture;
* has a provision to accommodate required growth of 694,000 people and 272 jobs by the year 2051;
* and establishes a robust Natural Heritage System with stronger protections including biodiversity, linkages and connectivity of natural heritage system that exceeds provincial requirements;
* identifies an agriculture system with a strong, protected, diverse and resilient agriculture economy; and
Whereas when the Greenbelt was established in 2005, the province mandated that it be reviewed every ten years and the last review was completed in 2015, meaning the next review would take effect in 2025.
Therefore be it resolved that the Provincial government take immediate actions on all 15 of the recommendations in the auditor general’s report
Re-evaluation of 2022 Decision to Change the Greenbelt Boundaries
Niagara citizens at Regional Headquarters for November 24th Inaugural meeting of council. Photo by Doug Draper
14. Given that the Premier and the Minister of Housing have communicated to us that they were unaware that the pre-selection of lands for removal from the Greenbelt was biased, controlled and directed by the Housing Minister’s Chief of Staff (a political public servant) rather than informed by environmental, agricultural and infrastructure considerations, we recommend that the government request that the Housing Ministry, in con- junction with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Indigenous communities and relevant stake- holders, such as impacted municipalities, re-evaluate the 2022 decision to change the Greenbelt boundaries.
NIAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views On This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below.
Niagara At Large 