A Watershed Moment: Choosing Better Growth for Ontario
For anyone reading this who wants to help: Send a letter or email today asking to include the Grand River watershed and urban river valleys in Brant County and Brantford in the Greenbelt. See our sample letter and contact info and follow us on Facebook. Deadline is March 7, 2018.
From massive housing development plans over green spaces and the gobbling up of farmland at a stunning rate of 173 football fields per day in Ontario, nearly everyone living in the County of Brant and Brantford sees a change on the horizon that threatens our communities. But how do we channel dissatisfaction into meaningful change that benefits many, before it is too late?
Online complaints run rampant, but almost no one offers up the single, large scale opportunity that could mitigate so many of these issues in one fell swoop: The expansion of the Ontario Greenbelt to Brantford and the County of Brant.
Connecting the dots
The opportunity to include the County of Brant and urban river valleys in Brantford and Paris in the Greenbelt expansion plans is a chance to protect resources we so often taken for granted: food, land and water. This opportunity touches on many different issues. Let’s examine a few of them for a broader understanding of what’s going on here.
The Greenbelt as we know it
The Ontario Greenbelt is a provincial designation of land that rings parts of the Golden Horseshoe, the densely populated area surrounding western Lake Ontario. It hosts a 10,000 km trail network and 475 km of cycling paths and protects not only farmland but also wetlands, watersheds, forests, and the wickedly awesome Niagara Escarpment.
The Greenbelt was created in 2005, just 13 years ago, with the intention to curb urban sprawl by legalizing how land within its borders was able to be used — or in other words, limiting development. By all measures it appears to be succeeding; it’s widely considered to be the model for the world for preserving natural and agricultural lands. More than 90% of Ontarians support the Greenbelt, and 75% of Ontarians want to see the Greenbelt grow (Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, 2015 Annual Report).
Good for farmers
A Greenbelt designation keeps farmland affordable for other farmers, increasing food security for the general population.
The Greenbelt designation does not dictate how a farmer uses their land for their agricultural purposes (for many farmers most restrictions come from their local municipality, not the Greenbelt).
Farmers are still able to sell their land whenever they please, and farmland prices in the Greenbelt have gone up about 10% each year since the Greenbelt was created, often twice as high as in any other province (Source: MPAC, RE/MAX, Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation).
There are many farmers who support the Greenbelt; it protects their livelihood. Ella Haley and Richard Tunstall, organic farmers just east of Brantford on the edge of the current Greenbelt, have been fighting to include their land for over ten years because, among other factors, they see it as the right thing to do.
“As century-old family farms are sold off for potential development, the rural fabric of the farming community is lost, one neighbour at a time.” — Ella Haley, organic farmer whose land sits just outside the current Greenbelt
What the Greenbelt designation does alter is who is willing to buy farmers’ land; developers would not be able to use it for urban expansion. This narrows the buying pool to other farmers, which frankly keeps land affordable for the people growing our food while simultaneously increasing food security for the general population.
Speculative development and urban sprawl
Jennifer Keesmaat, Toronto’s former Chief Planner, says that development pressures threaten the existing Greenbelt boundaries, that we have more than enough land set aside within already established urban areas to accommodate expected population growth, and that developers aren’t even building on the land that they already have. She says, “Builders control supply in this region,” and that in Toronto alone over 100,000 residences are approved but have not yet been built. This is a recognizable pattern across the province.
In the County of Brant, developers have been buying up farmland just outside the Greenbelt and on the edges of urban areas and lobbying for these areas to be included in the urban boundary, or essentially rezoned to accommodate sprawling development plans. And while this would be profitable for developers, this kind of development usually ends up costing taxpayers more because of the need to fund new water and sewer pipes and roads. In the meantime, developers who speculated and bought up farmland are now upset that a Greenbelt designation could hamper their development plans.
The Greenbelt can protect our drinking water
The Grand River is Brantford and the County of Brant’s largest water system. What people think of as a winding river, however, is a much broader ecosystem called the Grand River Watershed. A watershed is an area of land that acts like a sponge absorbing groundwater and funnelling rivers, streams, and larger bodies of water. Within the watershed are moraines, glacially formed deposits of rock and sediment that capture water and naturally filter and clean it as it drains down into the aquifer, replenishing the source for clean water as if by magic. We all live within watersheds that play integral roles in keeping our environment safe and habitable.
A watershed is also “an event or period marking a turning point in a course of action or state of affairs”. Yes, we are seeking to include the Grand River Watershed in the Greenbelt expansion plan, and this double meaning is no coincidence.
This is a watershed moment for the County of Brant and Brantford.
If we reject the notions of urban sprawl, and the influence of developers and land bankers on local and provincial politics, we can put a structure in place that prioritizes protecting our environment for many over profit for a few.
Why now?
Despite promising to grow the outer ring of the Greenbelt, the current proposed Provincial Greenbelt Expansion Study Area does not include key features of our local groundwater system. The current ring of the Greenbelt grows consistently outward until you get to to the Brant/Hamilton border — where it abruptly stops. This omission leaves out our water, natural resources and farmland from the protected area. Why?
As residents, our voices need to overpower the small but powerful minority who would benefit from sidestepping the Greenbelt designation. When development erodes the integrity of our water, key natural features and agricultural land, we are all threatened.
For anyone who has followed the disappointing outcome of CCOB’s water tribunal, the Greenbelt Expansion consultation feels like a second chance to protect our water. But this is different in one distinct way: Timing. The government is currently in a receptive mode of information gathering. They have put together a proposed Study Area and have been holding Open Houses across southwestern Ontario area to gather feedback (learn more here).
Now is the time to be proactive and protect our green spaces, water and farmland, and to correct the omission from the proposed Study Area before it becomes too costly or difficult. We urge residents to get involved early and to open dialogue with local councillors, our MPP and the provincial government. And if they don’t listen? Well, it’s an election year.
A lasting legacy
“The more you get rid of rural land, the more you get rid of rural culture.” — Meredith Walker, County of Brant resident
The drinking water, food security, and delicate ecosystems of southwestern Ontario, particularly in the County of Brant and Brantford, are under threat by developers, land bankers, and politicians who fail to embrace more ecological land use planning.
If residents don’t use their voices now, urban sprawl may very well erode the bucolic way of life so central to Canadian heritage.
And if we win — if the area’s farmland, natural heritage, and water sources become Greenbelt lands — we will have instilled momentous protective measures for the people who live here, for those who live downstream, and for generations to come.
What can you do?
5–15 min — Most important. If you haven’t done this already, do it now!
- Use our sample letter to write to key people. You can send your letters as emails up until March 7th, or as hard copies if posted by March 5th. If you’ve received a postcard, please mail it by March 5th. The deadline for all submissions is March 7th.
3 min — Second most important
- Send a personal message to friends, family and neighbours asking if they’ve heard about what’s going on with the Greenbelt in Brantford and the County of Brant. Personal messages are often the most effective means of spreading the word in our community. A sample message might say something like:
“Hey have you heard about the Greenbelt expansion project? They left out parts of Brant County but it would be a really good thing for us. Check out facebook.com/betterbrant”
30 sec — Easiest
- The easiest action you can take is to follow along on social media with Better Brant’s Facebook account. When you see a post or an event go by, please like it, share it, and help us spread the message. We are always open to questions and discussion, so if you have questions, post away.
1 hour — How to help if you have a bit more time
- Sign up to volunteer. We often need help reaching populations who are not adept with computers through making individual phone calls, running our social media, helping at events by bringing food, sitting at tables to answer questions, or even planning events themselves. Please let us know how you’re interested in helping! Send an email to info@Lconserv.org or call 519–647–0798.
