Ontario is launching a public consultation on expanding the province’s Greenbelt which it says is needed in order protect important water resources in the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

The province is considering expanding the Greenbelt to include areas in the outer ring of the Greater Golden Horseshoe, an area that is experiencing significant growth and is under pressure from urban development.

The Advisory Panel for the Co-ordinated Land Use Planning Review recommended that the province lead a process to grow Ontario’s Greenbelt to protect areas of ecological and hydrological significance where urbanization should not occur.

The government invites public, municipalities, conservation authorities, stakeholders, and Indigenous communities and organizations  to provide input on a study area for potential Greenbelt expansion. The consultation comprises seven areas which, the province says, are most in need of protection, including moraines, cold water streams and wetlands located in the outer ring of the Greater Golden Horseshoe. This area also includes valuable water resources that communities rely on for their water supply.

Comments may be submitted online, through the Environmental Registry or at an open house in January-February 2018.

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Manning Environmental Law is a Canadian law firm based in Toronto, Ontario. Our practice is focussed on environmental law, energy law and aboriginal law. 

Paul Manning is a certified specialist in environmental law. He has been named as one of the World’s Leading Environmental Lawyers and one of the World’s Leading Climate Change Lawyers by Who’s Who Legal.

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