“It’s not government land, it’s already privately owned,” MPP Vic Fedeli said, speaking of the Greenbelt land that’s slated for development. “And that land is adjacent to fully developed land,” he added.
Fedeli issued a statement about the Greenbelt development to BayToday last week but had a few more words before his funding announcement for Nipissing on August 17.
See: Fedeli supports government Greenbelt sell-off
See: Province investing big in Nipissing projects
He mentioned that what he’s been hearing from constituents is “that we need 1.5 million houses built,” and emphasized the provincial government is “adding 2,400 new acres of Greenbelt.”
This last point is often overlooked, he added. “None of that seems to be making it into the reporting.”
What is being used for development will be returned to the Greenbelt in other areas, plus an additional 2,400 acres. The Greenbelt is 2 million acres, larger than Prince Edward Island (1.4 million acres) and the state of Delaware (1.6 million acres).
“The land is not government land that is being given or sold,” Fedeli emphasized. “It has always been privately owned land” set for development, “and it’s all to build 50,000 homes now,” he said, with over a million more to follow.
As for the Auditor General’s report regarding the government’s management of the Greenbelt, “we’re going to accept 14 of the 15 recommendations. We’re working hard to get those 14, but we will not deny 50,000 families from having a new home.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
