Statement By Phil Pothen, Counsel and Ontario Environment Program Manager
Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Phil Pothen is available to provide insight following Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Robert Flack’s comments regarding the Ontario Government’s mandatory yet overdue Greenbelt Review.
“The Premier has promised his government will never again remove or reduce protection for any land currently in the Greenbelt. To keep that promise, and avoid reigniting the Greenbelt Scandal this review’s terms of reference must rule that out from the outset. Otherwise public hearings, written submissions, and consultations with municipal governments, could be co-opted by land speculators as a way to launder the same kinds of “land-swaps” that were the subject of the scathing Auditor General’s report and which remain the subject of an RCMP investigation.”
Who: Phil Pothen, Counsel and Ontario Environment Program Manager at Environmental Defence
When: Today, following comments from Minister Flack
Where: Toronto, Ontario and available remotely
Background Information:
- Environmental Defence published a blog post earlier this year, highlighting the need for clear guardrails in the upcoming Greenbelt Review.
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian 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:
Karishma Porwal, media@environmentaldefence.ca
