Section 1 of the above-mentioned Act established that the Lieutenant Governor in Council may by regulation, designate an area of land as the Greenbelt Area. The Lieutenant may also establish the Greenbelt Plan for all or part of the Greenbelt Area. The objectives of the Greenbelt Plan are to: a) establish a network of countryside and open space areas which supports the Oak Ridges Moraine and the Niagara Escarpment; b) to sustain the countryside, rural and small towns and contribute to the economic viability of farming communities; c) to preserve agricultural land as a continuing commercial source of food and employment; d) to recognize the critical importance of the agriculture sector to the regional economy; e) to provide protection to the land base needed to maintain, restore and improve the ecological and hydrological functions of the Greenbelt Area; f) to promote connections between lakes and the Oak Ridges Moraine and Niagara Escarpment; g) to provide open space and recreational, tourism and cultural heritage opportunities to support the social needs of a rapidly expanding and increasingly urbanized population; h) to promote linkages between ecosystems and provincial parks or public lands; i) to control urbanization of the lands to which the Greenbelt Plan applies; j) to ensure that the development of transportation and infrastructure proceeds in an environmentally sensitive manner; k) to promote sustainable resource use. The text consists of 29 sections.
Canada · 2005-02-24