On December 7, 2017, the provincial government announced that they are consulting on expansion of the Greenbelt into the outer ring of the Greater Golden Horseshoe. This includes Waterloo Region, where the Waterloo Moraine is one of six study areas proposed.

For full details, check out the  province’s page. You can also see our news release.

This consultation is great news for Waterloo Region, where our community members have been asking for Greenbelt protection for years and years. We are fortunate to already have strong local protections for our countryside, including the Countryside Line and Protected Countryside designations. But we need an extra layer of protection from the province to ensure that we protect our groundwater and countryside permanently. Two levels of protection would mean that one rogue politician cannot undermine decades of work to protect our community from urban sprawl. We need to make sure that the Greenbelt, after more than a decade, will finally come to Waterloo Region, and to make sure that its arrival will not lower any existing local protections we already have in place.

We hope you’ll submit comments in support of Greenbelt expansion into Waterloo Region, and participate in the open houses expected to be scheduled in January and February of 2018.

More local news coverage of this announcement:

• The Mike Farwell Show, December 12: Kevin Thomason of Smart Growth Waterloo Region, guest (skip to 21:45)
• The Waterloo Chronicle, December 11: “Greenbelt Act consultations bring some concerns and kudos in Waterloo Region”
• The Waterloo Region Record, December 10: “Environmentalists cheer Greenbelt study”
• The Waterloo Region Record, December 8: “Expanded Greenbelt raises questions”