Ontario Greens call for Greenbelt to be doubled in size to include Bluebelt to protect water

April 6, 2022

TORONTO — Today, Ontario Greens Leader Mike Schreiner called for the Greenbelt to be expanded to include a Bluebelt to protect water in Ontario.

The proposal calls for doubling the size of the existing 1.8 million-acre Greenbelt to include a protected Bluebelt of critically important watersheds, basins and river systems.

“We need to urgently protect water before the situation becomes more costly,” Schreiner said at a Queen’s Park news conference this morning. “As the climate crisis worsens, we need to do everything possible to preserve water supplies and the places that protect us from extreme weather events like expensive flooding.

“Water belongs in our rivers and lakes, not in our basements.”

Just last week, the Ford government released a disappointing Greenbelt proposal that made it clear that Doug Ford’s sprawl agenda comes before the protection of the environment and the places we love.

“Ford has shown time and time again that he doesn’t care about protecting water or our children’s future,” Schreiner stated. “Whether it’s the Holland Marsh Highway that severely threatens Lake Simcoe, Highway 413 that would destroy vital wetlands, or his thwarted attempt to ram through an MZO to pave over Duffins Creek.”

The proposed Bluebelt would permanently protect key moraines, rivers, lakes and wetlands including the Paris Galt Moraine, Duffins Creek and Carruthers Creek, all the way up to the Lake Simcoe watershed and Georgian Bay. It would also include the headwaters of the Grand River and the Grand River through Haldimand County.

“The Bluebelt will help build a healthier, cleaner and greener Ontario now and for generations to come,” Schreiner said. “We need real, honest solutions in the face of the climate emergency — not more half measures. Climate action like expanding the Greenbelt to include the Bluebelt can’t wait.”

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