Green Spaces




Last week’s events in Pickering are a warning for Halton. A company that offers low paying non-unionized jobs, is looking to build a warehouse in the east end of the GTA. The folks in Pickering thought it would be a good idea to build it right on top of protected wetlands. They thought to override the “protected” piece with an MZO, a Ministerial Zoning Order from the Provincial Government. When the CBC figured out that it was Amazon looking to use the space Amazon quickly backed out. Pickering’s mayor who initially championed the project did a 180 and said wait a minute.

Wetlands and green spaces form buffers between developed lands that allow wildlife to thrive, filter our water, sequester carbon, cool the air and prevent flooding. In Halton we rely on our green spaces for a place to walk in peace. We rely on wetlands to absorb sudden rainfalls and prevent the kind of flooding experienced during hurricane Hazel in 1954.

The Ontario NDP Green New Deal states that we should promote the development of more green spaces in Ontario’s cities. It recognizes that the climate crisis is a threat to our freshwater supply. 44 Ontario municipalities still overflow their combined sewers during heavy rains adding more pollution to our streams, rivers and lakes. The Ontario NDP is calling for the Duffins Creek MZO to be revoked. We are calling on Milton residents to express their dismay. After all, what green space will be the target of the next MZO?

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