Local activists will be protesting the province’s decisions on the Greenbelt, Bradford Bypass and the environment with a rally April 23 in Holland Landing.
The rally takes place outside York-Simcoe MPP and Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney’s constituency office to push back against the province’s environmental agenda, organizers said in a news release. Participating groups include the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition, Stop the Bradford Bypass and Stop Sprawl York Region, among others.
“The province of Ontario’s policy changes support an agenda to wreck southern Ontario’s farmland, its water and its communities in the service of expensive sprawl, which will not solve the affordability crisis,” the organizations stated.
Environmentalists have butted heads with the province on a number of issues in recent years, including growth plans sprawling into farmland, opening up the Greenbelt for development and the impact of the Bradford Bypass making its way to development.
The event is part of a larger weekend effort spearheaded by the advocacy organization Environmental Defence, recognizing Earth Day April 22. Small environmental groups across southern Ontario will be holding similar protests throughout the weekend.
The protest is also the fourth outside Mulroney’s office in the past three years by the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition and other groups, according to the news release.
“We rally together to shine light on pro-environment, pro-equity solutions and to call out the grave implications of the province’s abdication of responsibility,” they said.
The rally will run from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at 55 Grist Mill Rd.