Ontario’s Ford Government Weakens Greenbelt Protections and Takes Land Again with Bill 212

‘By peddling falsehoods about bike lanes, the Ontario government seeks to distract Ontarians from provisions in Bill 212 that will fast-track an unnecessary and expensive highway while undermining the Greenbelt.’   from a Statement by Environmental Defence  

A Statement by Tim Gray, Executive Director, Environmental Defence Canada with a Brief Foreword by Doug Draper at Niagara At Large

Posted, November 11^th, 2024 on Niagara At Large

A Foreword by Niagara At Large reporter/publisher Doug Draper – As part of what seems to a relentless, never-ending effort to –  as Ontario Premier Doug Ford put it some years ago – take out “chunks” of province’s precious Greenbelt lands for development, Ford and his Conservatives try one move after another to accomplish that goal.

Even while the RCMP continues with a criminal investigation against alleged wrongdoings involving an earlier plan to gut Greenbelt lands, this premier and his minions are determined to pave over Greenbelt lands that make up some of the best natural heritage and food-growing lands in Canada anyway.

It is growing more and more obvious that the only way to stop Ford and his Conservatives from threatening what is left of our province’s natural heritage is to throw them out of office in the next general election.

Now here is the statement on the Greenbelt issue from Environmental Defence –

Toronto, Ontario  – Embedded within Bill 212 are provisions that will undermine the Greenbelt by removing key environmental oversight and safeguards if Highway 413 moves forward. By trying to distract with attacks on bike lanes, the Ontario government is hiding the fact that they are taking another run at the Greenbelt.

If passed, Bill 212 would completely exempt Highway 413 from the Greenbelt Plan, along with other Provincial Plans, and even the Ontario government’s own Provincial Planning Statement.

This would, among other things, permit the Ontario government to intentionally choose a route through the Greenbelt and a highway design that it knows would cause significantly more damage to natural heritage, hydrological features and to the Greenbelt system as a whole compared to other alternatives.

The legislation would also exempt the planned highway from the Environmental Assessment Act entirely, offering only a series of limited studies focused on “local environmental conditions” and whose findings on “sensitive natural or cultural heritage matters would be kept secret”. It would render Indigenous consultation on the most significant questions about the 413 meaningless by allowing destructive so-called “early works” on the government’s favored route to happen before consultations occur.

These moves further underscore the Premier’s often stated contempt for the environmental values that will be destroyed by the highway and emphasizes the need for the federal government to protect areas of its responsibility such as species at risk, fisheries and Indigenous rights by designating the Highway 413 for a federal Impact Assessment.

ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

To read a related story on this issue, click on – RCMP interviewing government witnesses for Greenbelt probe | CBC News 

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