Narwhal Week, Episode 1: Why is Doug Ford slicing up Ontario’s Greenbelt?

Ontario Premier Doug Ford apparently plans to break his promise to not open up Ontario’s protected Greenbelt region to development. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to bleak news these days for the province’s environmental protections: conservation authorities are being gutted, flood-mitigating wetlands are at risk and citizens are losing their ability to make their voices heard. So what’s driving Ford’s decision-making? In a word: housing.

In the first episode of a weeklong collaboration between The Big Story and The Narwhal — an award-winning non-profit publication that provides in-depth coverage of climate issues across Canada — guest host, Fatima Syed, is joined by Emma McIntosh, The Narwhal’s Ontario reporter. They discuss the many ways in which the Ontario premier is overhauling environmental protections, and how the province can meet its housing targets without sacrificing vital ecosystems.

“We know we need more housing, that’s a given,” said McIntosh, “But just because that’s a crisis, doesn’t mean we should worsen another crisis, is what many critics are saying right now.”

So what will the next few years bring as Ontario scrambles to build housing for its growing population? Is there a viable alternative to sprawl?

GUEST: Emma McIntosh, Ontario reporter at The Narwhal

Read Emma’s Greenbelt coverage here

Read Fatima’s coverage of Doug Ford’s sprawl policies here

Read Emma and Fatima’s coverage of Ontario Conservation Authorities here, and their writing on Doug Ford’s overhaul of environmental protections here

You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.

You can also find it at thebigstorypodcast.ca.