Greenbelt

Ontario has broken the law by forcing the City of Hamilton to expand its boundary to build homes on farmland and wild spaces, an environmental rights group alleges in legal documents as it takes the province to court in a case being tracked by the mayor.

The Arnprior Solar Project is one of the largest solar electricity sites in Canada, and for the past five years, it has also doubled as a summer home for hundreds of sheep.

This is hardly the first time that Ford’s government has made decisions about the Greenbelt that seem disproportionately beneficial to a small group of developers, writes columnist Max Fawcett.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he and his government did not tip off developers ahead of announcing changes to the Greenbelt.

Ontario Greens are calling for an integrity probe after the Opposition NDP asked the province's auditor-general to calculate the spike in value of property suddenly at risk of losing its Greenbelt status.

Real estate prices have soared across Canada in recent years, and farmland is no different. From B.C. to the Maritimes, farmland near urban centres is being eyed by developers seeking to turn fields into suburban malls and cul-de-sacs.

York Region council has voted to expand its urban boundaries by nearly 8,000 acres despite opposition from environmental groups and municipalities that fear the move will lead to further urban sprawl.

The Ontario Liberals promised Tuesday to cut greenhouse gas emissions by strengthening standards for industry, banning new natural gas plants, providing electric vehicle rebates and offering grants for eco-friendly renovations.

A coalition of Ontario environmental groups is calling on provincial parties vying for power in the upcoming election to make it illegal to pave over the Greenbelt.

Peel Region will expand its urban boundaries to accommodate expected population growth, bucking a trend of nearby municipalities that have defied the provincial government’s push for sprawl.

Environmental groups and critics are condemning the Ontario government’s planned Greenbelt expansion for excluding environmentally sensitive areas including the Paris Galt Moraine and Carruthers Creek headwaters.

With a federal environmental assessment off the table, the contentious project is set to become an election issue with the Ford government strongly in favour and other parties opposed or lukewarm.

Lack of adequate conservation measures by provinces and territories is to blame for Canada failing to meet its international conservation target, according to a new report by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS).

Norm Sterling ⁠— who oversaw cuts to the environment ministry’s budget that were later found to have contributed to what happened to the Walkerton E. coli outbreak ⁠— was a Progressive Conservative environment minister under the Mike Harris government.

Open Bay Society, a non-profit wilderness conservancy and research centre based on Quadra, is negotiating with Mosaic Forest Management to buy timber harvesting rights for 7,000 acres of forest.