Town of Oakville’s request for Fourteen Mile Creek Expansion to be added to Greenbelt heard ‘loud and clear’
Published July 28, 2021 at 7:37 pm
The request from the Town of Oakville and local conservation groups to add more of the Fourteen Mile Creek urban river valley to the Greenbelt is being heard.
The provincial government announced Wednesday its intentions that Greenbelt protection of Fourteen Mile Creek could be extended south to where it connects with Lake Ontario following public consultation and engagement with indigenous communities this fall.
The Town of Oakville, Conservation Halton and Conservation Ontario, along with support from the Region of Halton, pitched the proposal for the addition last spring as part of a 60-day initial consultation to grow the Greenbelt.
“We heard loud and clear that the community in the Town of Oakville wants to see Fourteen Mile Creek urban river valley added to the Greenbelt,” said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “I am proud to say that we are listening to communities across the Greenbelt as we undertake what could be the largest expansion since its inception in 2005.”
The extension would add 120 acres.
“Protecting Oakville’s Fourteen Mile Creek urban river valley by putting more of it into the Greenbelt is great news for our community. Our government is committed to enhancing and preserving our natural environment and I am pleased that we are bringing the entire creek into the Greenbelt,” said Effie Triantafilopoulos, MPP for Oakville North—Burlington.
Videos
“Our rivers and streams are important and protecting the lands around them plays a key role in our community’s environmental health and well-being.”
This fall, the provincial government will look to engage with Indigenous communities and the public using maps to show the land that could be added to the Greenbelt, including the Fourteen Mile Creek extension, other urban river valleys and a draft Paris Galt Moraine boundary.
“Minister Clark continues to deliver for the residents of Oakville on important local issues,” said Rob Burton, Mayor of the Town of Oakville and Chair of Municipal Leaders for the Greenbelt. “From saving Glen Abbey to now announcing the intent to grow the Greenbelt, I am proud of our strong partnership with the province.”
Established under the Greenbelt Act, 2005, the Greenbelt is a broad band of protected land that currently includes over 800,000 hectares of land in the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising