GUELPH – Ontario Green Party Leader and Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner has tabled legislation that would establish a “Bluebelt” throughout the province to complement and further protect the Greenbelt.
The proposal calls for doubling the size of the existing 1.8 million-acre Greenbelt to include a protected Bluebelt of critically important watersheds, wetlands, moraines and river systems.
The proposed Bluebelt would protect the Paris Galt Moraine, the headwaters of the Grand River watershed and the Grand River through Haldimand County.
“We’re in a climate emergency and need to urgently protect water before the situation becomes more costly,” Schreiner stated in an April 7 press release.
In a phone interview on April 14, Schreiner said the Ford government has weakened the powers of conservation authorities and their ability to respond to and plan for extreme climate events including flooding and drought.
“Ford has proposed a minor expansion of the Greenbelt and we’re very disappointed with that. So we put this proposal on the table,” he said. “It’s unlikely the government will move on it but it should be an important part of the conversation, and certainly the election conversation.”
Schreiner said flooding is costly – to the province, to municipalities and to homeowners with flooded basements, which can cost upwards of $40,000 to repair.
He said a Bluebelt would protect drinking water, farmland, wildlife and water systems and, in the grand scheme, would save money.
“Protecting these important areas with the Bluebelt is the fiscally responsible thing to do,” he said.
