A sham consultation – and Ford ploughs ahead with his plan to carve up the Greenbelt

December 22, 2022

GUELPH — Ontario Greens Leader and MPP for Guelph, Mike Schreiner, released the following statement in response to news that the public consultation on the government's Greenbelt plan showed that there was broad opposition to opening up the protected land for development.

“Doug Ford’s decision to ignore the results of the public consultations proves he doesn’t care what the people of Ontario think – as long as land speculators and pro-sprawl developers can cash in, nothing else matters.

More than 27,000 submissions from across the political spectrum overwhelmingly oppose Ford’s plan to pave over the Greenbelt.

Ford is ignoring the thousands of people who take to the streets every weekend in dozens of protests across the province – all demanding that Ford keep his promise and keep his hands off our Greenbelt.

And maybe even worse than dismissing this opposition, Ford and Housing Minister Clark continue to mislead Ontarians by claiming that the Greenbelt must be sacrificed in the name of building much needed housing.

Over and over again that has been shown to be untrue. Lack of land is not the cause of the housing crisis.

Nothing – not the facts or overwhelming public opposition – will stand in the way of this government’s determination to see its land speculator friends turn their millions into billions while destroying a priceless public asset for current and future generations.

But I, like thousands of Ontarians, will not give up the fight to protect the Greenbelt.”

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Media Contact:
John Chenery
johnchenery@gpo.ca
647-213-2060

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