NewmarketToday welcomes your letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). This is a copy of a letter sent to Newmarket-Aurora MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy.
Re: Greenbelt removals picked by housing minister's top staffer at developers' behest: auditor, Aug. 9, 2023.
I'm not surprised that you didn’t respond to my previous messages — you’re simply following your leader’s example of hiding when the going gets tough. I will never forget that Tory candidates refused to attend "all candidates" meetings during the last election. This time I’m copying a few news outlets — I doubt that will change your behaviour, but it’s worth a try.
Premier Doug Ford really has gone too far this time. No one will disagree that we need more housing in Ontario, but not at any cost. Have you heard about climate change? Have you noticed that it’s cooler when you walk under trees than when you walk in a city (assuming you walk, of course)?
We need *more* trees and greenspace, not less, and existing agreements about the Greenbelt must be maintained and ideally extended. Further, we need to protect biodiversity as much as possible — our descendants will curse us for our actions in harming nature and the environment and our inaction in doing something about it.
All of this has been said before, but what’s particularly galling is the enormous profit developers will make for building and selling high-end housing on former Greenbelt land — don’t pretend this was accidental, the timing of the rezoning says otherwise.
We need more transit-accessible affordable housing, not high-end housing that is accessed my more high-cost highways. Think of the other important things that could be done with $8 billion, such as paying people living wages, health-care improvements, and environmental protection.
As my MPP, I insist that you protest strongly and that you work to redress the wrongs that Ford has caused. I look forward to receiving a response — hopefully not one that simply parrots the party line.
Ron Bonner
Newmarket
