"A mandatory review of the Greenbelt that was to have started earlier this year has yet to begin, and critics are demanding substantive guardrails around the Ford government's assessment of the protected lands. The two-million acre, ecologically sensitive zone around the Greater Golden Horseshoe area was to have undergone a mandatory review starting in February. But thus far, the Ford government has not launched the wide-ranging consultation or appointed members of a key advisory group which is crucial to delivering the review."
"Environmentalists and opposition critics are calling on the government to break its months-long silence on its plans for the review and to definitively say that no lands will be removed from the protected area through the review. Premier Ford promised in crystal clear language that his government won't make any changes to protection for any current Greenbelt land in the future, said Phil Pothen of Environmental Defence."
"Any process that included any of those things would very clearly be a breach of the premier's promise and would reignite the Greenbelt scandal," Pothen said. WATCH | This is the second time this year critics have demanded the review begin. From June: Internal documents have revealed that Ontario is months behind on a mandatory review of the Greenbelt. CBC's Shawn Jeffords has reaction from concerned opposition politicians and environmentalists."
A mandatory decadal review of the two-million acre Greenbelt, scheduled to begin in February, has not started. The provincial government has not launched the required broad consultation or appointed members to a key advisory group needed to complete the review. Environmental groups and opposition politicians demand immediate action, clear protections, and a categorical commitment that no currently protected lands will be removed. The Greenbelt law originally set protections for farmland and sensitive ecological areas around the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The issue remains politically sensitive after a 2022 controversy over proposed land swaps that would open protected parcels for development.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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