The Greenbelt is a protected area of green space, farmland, forests, wetlands, and watersheds, located in

Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...

, Canada. It surrounds a significant portion of the

Golden Horseshoe The Golden Horseshoe is a secondary region of Southern Ontario, Canada, which lies at the western end of Lake Ontario, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. The ...

. Created by legislation passed by the Government of Ontario in 2005, the Greenbelt is considered a prevention of urban development and sprawl on environmentally sensitive land in the province. According to the Greenbelt Foundation, the Greenbelt includes of land. That includes of protected wetlands, grasslands, and forests.

History

The Greenbelt was established around the

, one of the fastest growing urban areas in North America. The population in the region increased from 6.5 to 7.7 million between 1991 and 2001. The population increase put urban development pressure on areas surrounding Greater Toronto and Hamilton. Between 1996 and 2001, the amount of farmland decreased by 7% in the GTA, and by 6% in Hamilton. The Golden Horseshoe's population is projected to increase to 11.5 million by 2031. OntarioGreenbelt

The idea of establishing a greenbelt in Ontario was created by Premier of Ontario Dalton McGuinty in his Speech from the Throne in November 2003. Bill 27, the Greenbelt Protection Act, 2004 became law on June 24, 2004. The new legislation, in conjunction with a zoning order issued by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, created a study area and placed a moratorium on some land uses until a specific plan was established. Bill 135, the Greenbelt Act, 2005 was introduced to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for first reading of the bill in October 2004, and became law on February 28, 2005. It now provides permanent protection for the Greenbelt area.

Purpose and composition

The Greenbelt provides regulatory protection from urban development pressure due to this population growth. While protecting prime agricultural land is its primary purpose, it is actually a bundle of other key elements to also protect rural area, heritage sites, and sensitive ecological and hydrological features, which include the Niagara Escarpment and the

Oak Ridges Moraine The Oak Ridges Moraine is an ecologically important geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south-central Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers a geographic area of between Caledon and Rice Lake, near Peterborough. One of the most sign ...

.Deaton and Vyn, p. 143

Protected Countryside

Agriculture protection is the primary element of the Greenbelt legislation. It prevents municipalities from re-zoning areas identified as "prime agricultural areas," "specialty crop areas," and "rural areas" identified by the province for other uses. The three areas compile the Protected Countryside (PC) element. The PC includes areas like the

Holland Marsh The Holland Marsh is a wetland and agricultural area in Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. It lies entirely within the valley of the Holland River, stretching from the northern edge of the Oak Ridges Moraine near Schomberg to the river mo ...

, which produces over $50 million of carrots, onions and other popular vegetables in very fertile soil. Other fruits and vegetables, dairy, beef, pork, poultry, and wine

grapes A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

are produced throughout the region.

Niagara Escarpment

The Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve is a geological formation reaching 725 kilometres long and up to 500 metres tall. It began as coastline of the Michigan Basin 450 million years ago. It was designated as one of 15

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Biosphere Reserve The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) covers internationally designated protected areas, known as biosphere reserves, which are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature (e.g. encourage sustainable de ...

s in Canada in 1990. It is managed jointly by Ministry of Natural Resources and the

Niagara Escarpment Commission The Niagara Escarpment Commission (french: Commission de l'escarpement du Niagara), founded in June 1973 by the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act (last revised 2012), is an agency of the Ontario government. Its mission is to "conse ...

. The area is protected due to the many unique species and prime recreation grounds. Tourism associated with the escarpment contributes $100 million to local and regional economies.

Oak Ridges Moraine

The

covers a 1,900 square kilometres (734 sq mi) between Caledon and Rice Lake, near Peterborough. It is a hydrological system of streams, wetlands, kettle lakes and ponds and their catchment areas, seepage areas, springs, and aquifers and other recharge areas.

Current conservation, recognition and future

The ''Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation'' is a not-for-profit organization that was created in 2005 to help foster the Greenbelt in Southern Ontario. The ''Foundation,'' which was provided $25 million from the provincial government, has funded many organizations and charities in the Greenbelt, which support agricultural and viticultural activities and restoring the natural environment. The ''Foundation'' is also responsible for providing a "Friend of the Greenbelt" award that serves to "recognize and celebrate those individuals who make a significant contribution to Ontario's Greenbelt." In 2006, singer Sarah Harmer was selected by the ''Foundation'' for her "I love the Escarpment" tour, which aims to protect the Niagara Escarpment. In 2007, former Premier William Grenville Davis was presented with the award for adopting the 1973 ''Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act,'' which created the Niagara Escarpment Plan. A report titled ''Ontario’s Greenbelt in an International Context'' was released in 2010 by the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy. The report concluded the Ontario greenbelt is the strongest for its supporting legislation versus nine similar greenbelts internationally. A report titled ''GTHA Rural Property Inequities'' was released in 2015 in the Township of Scugog. This report concluded the Ontario greenbelt has many issues to overcome before it is a viable and sustainable proposition. It also concludes many of the supporters of the greenbelt are from metropolitan areas and don't contribute monetarily to its welfare.

Future

In 2015, the Greenbelt Plan started its 10-year review in coordination with the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the Niagara Escarpment Plan, and the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan. As part of the review, the Province gathered public feedback through a series of community meetings and online engagement. The Province released a discussion document to "help inform and guide discussions." The deadline for feedback on the proposed changes for the Co-ordinated Land Use Planning Review was 31 October 2016 and the Provincial Government expected to release specifics about the future plan in "early 2017". The Building Industry and Land Development Association, a lobby group for the development and construction industry in Ontario, claims that the Greenbelt and other anti-sprawl policies are responsible for the lack of

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on af ...

in southern Ontario. Urban planners dispute this, stating that large amounts of land in southern Ontario set aside for development remained unused as of 2016 and would be sufficient to support over a decade of new development. In spite of pressure from realtors and home builders to decrease the size of the Greenbelt to allow for expansion of housing developments, Premier Kathleen Wynne told the news media that the 27 April 2017 Provincial Budget will not diminish the protected lands. "We're committed to growing the Greenbelt not shrinking the Greenbelt," she explained. According to the Neptis Foundation (a publisher of nonpartisan research on urban regions), there are roughly 45,000 acres still available for development in the GTHA, adequate until at least 2031. Research conducted by the CBC confirms that a great deal of land is available in both Halton Region and Toronto; for example 6,000 and 118,610 housing units, respectively, have been approved but not built. Oakville Mayor Rob Burton commented to the CBC about developers in late March 2017 that "we've given them serviced land they're sitting on." Toronto's Chief Planner Jennifer Keesmaat added that "builders control supply in this region. We live in a cartel economy." In late April 2018, however, during the

2018 Ontario general election The 2018 Ontario general election was held on June 7, 2018, to elect the 124 members of the 42nd Parliament of Ontario. The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, led by Doug Ford, won 76 of the 124 seats in the legislature and formed a maj ...

campaign,

Doug Ford Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party since March 2018. He ...

, leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party discussed the Greenbelt in a video released to the news media. Ford said that he would open the protected area to development if he was elected. His assurance to developers was made on the claim that the cost of new homes in the GTA and Hamilton area could be reduced if additional land were made available. Tim Gray, executive director of the environmentalist group Environmental Defence, reminded the news media that "municipal data shows that there is enough land available to provide for housing development within existing Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area urban boundaries until 2031." The next day, Ford reversed his position and said he would not develop the protected area. In late 2022, Doug Ford and the provincial government detailed their plan to amend various sections of Greenbelt land for housing development.

Notes

External links

Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation

Ontario Greenbelt Alliance

Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing - Greenbelt Protection
{{Ontario parks Geography of Toronto Protected areas of Hamilton, Ontario Protected areas of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo Agriculture in Canada Protected areas of the Regional Municipality of York Protected areas of the Regional Municipality of Niagara