Affordable Housing, Protecting the Greenbelt

PDHS students protest against Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act

By Casandra Turnbull

You’re never too young to stand up and advocate for issues that will impact your future. Just ask a group of PDHS students who participated in a staged walkout on Thursday in protest of Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022.

A handful of students, including members of the school’s Eco Club, planned a walkout to take a stand against Bill 23, which will allow development on previously protected Greenbelt land and to make their voices heard with regards to concerns surrounding affordable housing. The walkout was organized by Grade 11 student Isaac Halsey and included members of the school’s Eco Club. Halsey said his biggest concern is that Bill 23 will result in more housing, but not the type of housing that will positively affect the current housing crisis.

“The biggest thing for me is this won’t decrease the price of homes for Ontarians to buy. We don’t need more million-dollar single-family houses, we need affordable housing close to cities for people who can’t afford cars/gas. I, and many other students at PDHS, may never be able to afford a house at this rate, and Bill 23 will only make it worse ”

Halsey’s also disturbed by the lack of communication with Indigenous leaders before Bill 23 was presented in October and passed in November.

“I hope this walkout brings awareness to how valuable and important our Greenbelt is and why it needs to be protected I also hope people realize students have voices too, and that we can advocate for change because we are the future.” Halsey also invited other schools to participate in the planned protest as an act of solidarity, hoping to make it a county-wide initiative, but some didn’t respond and others politely declined but still offered up words of encouragement and support, he said

Students protesting Bill 23 Thursday afternoon in front of Paris High School. They were joined by some members of the public as well. Their concerns centre around affordable housing and protecting the Greenbelt land.

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This was the first time Halsey organized any sort of student walkout While Bill 23 was in the news earlier this year, Halsey stumbled across an Instagram account for a PDHS walkout in 2018 protesting changes to the sex-education curriculum. It inspired him to start planning his own walkout to make his voice heard.

“I reached out to the organizers of the 2018 walkout, and they were very helpful in guiding me in the right direction.”

So he started by creating his own Instagram account to gather student support He was in touch with Green Party of Brant candidate Karleigh Csordas and local environmental activist and resident Joan Faux, both who guided him in the right direction and helped him contact local media. Halsey did inform some teachers and the principal, out of courtesy, but understood they had to remain impartial, even though some were very supportive of the cause Bill 23 is part of the Ontario government’s plan to fast track 1.5 million new homes in the province in the next 10 years In early December, a group of concerned citizens, now identifying as Brantford Brant We Care, organized a rally in front of MPP Will Bouma’s office. The group was joined by Paris Councillors Steve Howes, Lukas Oakley and John Bell. The rally had a sharp focus on a certain section of the Bill that will allow the government to remove 7,400 acres of Greenbelt land in 15 different areas of the protected stretch to allow for development. The Greenbelt has remained undeveloped since 2005 because

Of Special Legislation

Joan Faux, one of the rally organizers, was pleased to join students on Thursday to help them share their message to Doug Ford: Keep your promise! “It was very encouraging to see youth who are engaged, willing to get involved and take action. They made it clear they know that the decisions being made now will impact their future The enthusiasm was contagious,” said Faux. While speaking with numerous students, Faux said she was impressed that many had created their own signs and shared a genuine concern for the environment and protected lands.

“Many students said they are frustrated that Doug Ford is breaking his promise and quite a few mentioned they are concerned about affordable housing. They know that opening the Greenbelt will not do anything to make homes more affordable.”

Faux said she’s hopeful that some students will continue to advocate and participate in future rallies over the coming weeks and months.

In other related Bill 23 news, Councillor Steve Howes recognized the county’s planning staff this week for executing a council request to create a webpage intended to help residents understand changes stemming from the new Bill. You can view the webpage here.

According to the webpage, The County of Brant is not included in the list of 29 municipalities for the 2031 accelerated housing targets or directing the County to create a ‘Housing Pledge’ in the next 10 years. This has been focused on fast growing municipalities over 100,000 people. Instead, the County has a future population forecast of approximately 59,000 residents by the year 2051, which has not changed through Bill 23.

Howes shared similar sentiments as the students who walked out this week. In a social media post, Howes stated, “One of my biggest concerns with Bill 23 is that while it strives to create opportunities for ‘More Homes Built Faster,’ in my opinion it does little to encourage or incentivize developers in the creation of modest, truly affordable homes for those who need them.”