Coalition calls for rigorous Greenbelt review
With a review of the Greenbelt scheduled for 2025 the Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition is asking regional councils to support pressing on the province that the review should be undertaken, and done in a meaningful way.
Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition is comprised of 47 member groups. Chair David Jeffery was before Clearview council on Oct. 6 to request support for the exploration of opportunities to expand and strengthen Greenbelt protections and call on the province to collaborate with municipalities, Indigenous nations, and stakeholders to identify and protect lands of ecological, agricultural, and hydrological significance.
He said the coalition is asking the province to do a review “with rigour, scientific depth, and to sew the seeds for expansion of the greenbelt.”
“Municipalities like yours can forward, can help shape, a review that protects farmland, protects water, and ultimately ensures that the next generation has a livable place to call home,” he said.
Jeffrey said local farmland and water features are closely tied to the region’s long-term resilience. “Nature does not note any artificial boundaries. Carbon floats all over the countryside…” said Jeffrey. “We need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to protect the many important features we live near.”
He said that in 2018, the Liberal government of the day discussed expanding the Greenbelt into Simcoe County, a key area to protect threatened water and farmland resources.
Jeffrey said the coalition has and will be visiting councils, with four resolutions having been passed at the time of the meeting. Mayor Doug Measures did not commit to including the resolution on an upcoming agenda.
