“City Council made it clear that Toronto wants to add more public lands to Ontario’s world renowned Greenbelt,” says Franz Hartmann, Executive Director of the Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA). “I can’t think of a nicer birthday present for the Greenbelt and for the people of Toronto.”

“We’re thrilled that Toronto is taking steps to connect its urban river valleys to the province’s larger Greenbelt. Toronto’s rivers and ravines are unique treasures, which deserve the highest level of protection possible,” says Erin Shapero, Land and Water Program Manager at Environmental Defence. “We’re glad to see Toronto joining Mississauga and Oakville which have taken steps to grow the Greenbelt into their municipalities.”

Yesterday, Council directed city staff to develop a plan about how to grow the Greenbelt into public lands in the Humber and Don River Valleys, and Etobicoke Creek. The plan will come back to council for approval in late spring.

“Toronto’s ravines are extremely precious places, like the other lands in the Greenbelt,” says Hartmann. “Having them become part of the Greenbelt will mean they are under another layer of protection and will give people a sense of how connected our ravines are to the Greenbelt that surrounds us.”

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For more information, contact:

Franz Hartmann, PhD, Executive Director, Toronto Environmental Alliance, Cell: 416-606-8881

Naomi Carniol, Environmental Defence, 416-323-9521 ext 258; Cell: 416-570-2878  [email protected]