Statement by Tim Gray, Executive Director
Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Environmental Defence is thrilled that the federal government today announced that the Pickering Airport will not go ahead and that its approximately 3,500 hectares of publicly-owned land will be added to the Rouge Urban National Park.
Because it is owned by the federal government, the land was already off-limits for the destructive suburban sprawl that has threatened most of Ontario’s best farmland and wildlife habitat since the repeal of the Growth Plan for the Greater Horseshoe. The pending inclusion of these lands within a national park will provide permanent protection, shielding them from land speculators who targeted the adjacent Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve during the Ontario government’s failed attempt to dismantle the Greenbelt.
Protecting these lands is essential. Since the federal government’s 1972 expropriation of the Pickering Lands, the area has preserved important biodiversity while also continuing to support farming families and helping safeguard Canada’s food security.
Extending Parks Canada protection to this ecologically sensitive area in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) contiguous to the Greenbelt will be an important step in enhancing one of very few ecological corridors between Lake Ontario and the Greenbelt and the Oak Ridges Moraine contained within it.
This decision by the federal government will provide natural and recreational opportunities for future generations of GTA residents. This is especially important in view that the GTA’s population is projected to grow by 41 per cent from 2023 to 2046, adding another 3.1 million people to reach over 10 million residents.
Today’s announcement also means that these biodiversity rich lands will not be opened up for sprawl, and signals that housing should instead be built inside urban settlement areas close to amenities, jobs and educational opportunities, where more homes can be built faster and at lower cost.
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.
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For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Carolyn Townend, Environmental Defence
[email protected]
