Newmarket’s environmentalists are planning to fight for the Greenbelt with an interactive town hall May 11.
Climate Action Newmarket-Aurora will be bringing in multiple speakers to the Old Town Hall to talk about the history of the Greenbelt, its benefits and farming on the land. The event comes with environmentalists continually protesting provincial plans to open up portions of the environmentally protected lands for development.
Member Fran Bazos said that the provincial decision is upsetting and there are good reasons for the Greenbelt to stay as it is.
“We wanted the public to know what they can do to help push back on the government,” she said. “Having this town hall will just help to cement the energy around what you can do, so people understand how complex the Greenbelt is.”
The province plans to open up several stretches of the Greenbelt while replacing it with lands elsewhere, citing a need for land to develop housing. The removal includes Greenbelt lands just west of Newmarket in the Township of King, which have faced controversy after getting sold just a few months before the provincial announcement. It has been proposed a new local hospital be built on a portion of those lands.
Speakers for the Climate Action event include Newmarket Mayor John Taylor, Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition executive director Claire Malcolmson, Greenbelt Alliance co-ordinator Franz Hatmann and Clearwater Farm director of operations Michael Wilson.
“We hope that it will just get people engaged and empowered,” Bazos said. “One of the things that is happening around climate change is people feel hopeless. But there is hope. As much as there is this push against the environment, there’s a push to protect it, too.”
The free event will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Old Town Hall May 11. You can contact [email protected] for more information.
Despite the government already progressing with rezoning portions of the Greenbelt, Bazos said she thinks the public can still convince it to change course.
“We’re determined.”
