Environmental Defence | Protecting the Environment and Human Health

Green Among the Grey: Fifth Anniversary Progress Report on the Greater Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt

Ontario's Greenbelt is Five Years Old!

This report takes a look at Ontario's 1.8 million acre Greenbelt - its successes and its challenges.

The successes of the Greenbelt are clear. Because of the Greenbelt:

• Ecologically important green spaces like Boyd Park, Rouge Park, Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve and North Leslie have been protected.
• Endangered animals, insects, and plants now live in permanently protected habitats that respect and enable natural corridors.
• The agricultural community is benefitting from a growing community of Greenbelt supporters, who look for local growers at farmer’s markets and support innovative projects like the Holland Marsh Growers Association, and policy changes like thosethat promote Ontario’s beleaguered grape growers.
• It has been estimated that the Greenbelt contributes $2.6 billion annually to the ecological services of the region.

To strengthen the Greenbelt, this report recommends that: the Ontario government reform agricultural and taxation policies to make certain that farming remains viable throughout the region; the Ontario government reform aggregate policies to lessen the environmental effects of aggregate mining, and that a moratorium be put on aggregates in the Greenbelt until the existing laws are modernized; and, municipal governments make requests to grow the Greenbelt in areas that continue to be ecologically sensitive or susceptible to sprawl and the provincial government expedite this growth.

Download the full report (1.5 mb)