'Force the premier to keep his promise': Calls to end Bill 23 at rally in Cambridge
Demonstrators in Cambridge are hoping greenbelt and conservation lands can be protected from new home development.
The event at the Dumfries Conservation Area Saturday afternoon was held in protest of the provincial government's More Homes Built Faster Act.
The act aims to build 1.5 million homes in Ontario over the next 10 years, remove 74,000 acres from the protected greenbelt, add new protected lands elsewhere, and effectively open the land up for housing for the first time.
Protestors say the bill threatens sustainability by not considering the wetlands system as a whole.
"There's a big gap for conservation authorities at this point in terms of funding," said Mike Marcolongo of the Greenbelt Promise Campaign. "Will they be looking at land disposition as a way to make up for it? That's not a fair proposition for them and we're here to remind the public that this is betrayal by the conservator MPPs in this area as well as Premier [Doug] Ford."
They add that the plan wasn't a part of Doug Ford's election campaign and has left some feeling betrayed.
"Every time the premier has said I'm going to open the greenbelt for development people have pushed back and forced the premier to backtrack," said Mike Schreiner, leader of the Ontario Green Party. "He's broken his promise once again. I've documented almost 20 times where the premier and his housing minister explicitly said they would not open the greenbelt for development.
"We have to force the premier to keep his promise."
Some protestors plan to keep holding similar rallies calling for the end to Bill 23. The next one is set for Queens Park in Toronto on Feb. 21.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I'm a Canadian': MP named in foreign interference report speaks out, refutes claims
The Liberal MP who allegedly benefitted from Chinese election interference is speaking out against the report, categorically stating the foreign government did not help him in his nomination campaign.

Uber says Ottawa has the worst passengers in Canada
According to new data released by Uber on Tuesday, Ottawa has the worst average rider rating in the country, followed by Toronto and Montreal.
Researchers have created a way to cloak artwork so that it can’t be used to train AI
Researchers at the University of Chicago have made a tool called Glaze which, once applied to a piece of artwork, means that artwork can’t be read and reproduced by AI tools that scrape art online to replicate their style.
So many doctors are being driven away by Idaho abortion ban that this hospital can’t deliver babies anymore
An Idaho hospital has announced that it will no longer be able to deliver babies because the state’s near-total abortion ban — one of the most extreme in the U.S. — has driven so many doctors away.
'A very, very difficult odour': Senate adjourns early after foul smell in the building disrupts proceedings
The Senate adjourned early on Tuesday afternoon after a foul smell in the building caused headaches in the chamber and disrupted proceedings.
Nordstrom liquidation sales underwhelm Canadians as most items marked down 5 per cent
The first day of Nordstrom's liquidation sale began on Tuesday, but some shoppers walked away underwhelmed, as most items were only marked down five per cent.
Second body recovered from Old Montreal building destroyed by fire
Montreal police confirmed Tuesday evening that a second body has been recovered from the building in Old Montreal that was destroyed by a fire last week.
Trump's potential indictment caps decades of legal scrutiny
For 40 years, former President Donald Trump has navigated countless legal investigations without ever facing criminal charges. That record may soon come to an end.
Via Rail apologizes after Muslim man told not to pray at Ottawa train station
Via Rail is apologizing after a Muslim man was told he couldn't pray at the Ottawa train station.