Green Party of Ontario leader, Mike Schreiner, released the following statement in response to proposed changes to the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe:

“Premier Ford is threatening the farmland that feeds us by promoting sprawl. His move might be good for big developers and speculators, but it is not good for the 800,000 plus people who work in Ontario’s $40 billion food sector.

The Premier’s plan is forcing an unnecessary choice between building homes and protecting farmland and greenspace. Study after study shows there is enough space for employment and housing in existing lands zoned for development.

It’s a myth that we need to pave over paradise to meet our housing needs.

The Premier’s actions won’t solve the housing affordability crisis. But it will grease the wheels for land speculators to profit.

And it's infuriating the government would erase terms like ‘urban sprawl’ and ‘climate change’ from the Growth Plan. Instead of dealing with these real-world problems, Premier Ford will just pretend they don’t exist.

Farmers feed cities, and they need farmland to grow the crops that sustain us."

source: media release, GPO