Project Description

Growing the Greenbelt 2021: Regional Resilience is a project funded by the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation to facilitate community participation in a provincial consultation to Grow the size of Ontario’s Greenbelt, for which the Ontario Headwaters Institute will be delivering 12 webinars with community partners.

In addition to supporting the inclusion of the Paris Galt Moraine and more Urban River Valleys in the Greenbelt, Regional Resilience suggests that this consultation is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to extend the Greenbelt into the broader Greater Golden Horseshoe, safeguarding the region’s long-term ecological integrity, social wellbeing, and economic prosperity.

While the consultation closed at midnight April 19, 2021, we have archived a petition signed by 145 supporters due to the completion of a subscription period, but you can still see all of the other outcomes of this project, including:

• See the PPT for Website from April 14 on adding Moraines or
• Watch a 48-minute recording of the April 14 Webinar on adding Moraines
• Read a PDF of the See a Draft Version of Submission of March 31, designed so webinar participants had material they could use; and of course;
• See the final OHI Submission ERO 019 – 3136 April 19

In addition, the OHI prepared a supplemental paper on how to better protect South-central Ontario’s ecological integrity by extending Greenbelt-type protection for natural heritage and agricultural lands into the Greater Golden Horsehoe. The publication date for this paper has been deferred several times, due to ongoing changes to provincial policy and the 2022 updating of municipal officlal plans required under the Growth Plan. We anticipate publication in late 2022.