Where do the Town of Georgina municipal election candidates stand on walking trails and Greenbelt protection?

We asked the candidates running in the upcoming municipal election where they stand on protecting the Greenbelt and opening some of the Lake Simcoe Conservation Preserve’s walking trails. 

Specifically, we asked them:

Protecting the Greenbelt

Ontario’s Greenbelt protects farmland, communities, forests, wetlands and watersheds. It also preserves cultural heritage and supports recreation and tourism in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe.

Question #1 Do you support keeping the current boundaries of the Greenbelt in the Town of Georgina?

Question #2 Do you support keeping the current environmental protection rules for the Greenbelt Plan as they apply to to the Town of Georgina?

Opening Walking Trails in Lake Simcoe Conservation Preserve

Thanks to Caroline Mulroney’s leadership , in 2022, the Maple Lake Estates’ forests, wetlands, meadows and farmlands in the Town of Georgina were transferred to the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority to create the Lake Simcoe Conservation Preserve (LSCP).

Question #3: Should some of the LSCP’s existing walking trails be upgraded so that the public can have safe and environmentally appropriate access to its provincially significant wetlands and old growth forests?

All the candidates for mayor and regional council answered "yes" to our questions. Here are their full responses.

Mayor

Dale Kerr Genge

Margaret Quirk

Frank Sebo

Regional Councillor

Naomi Davison

Geoff Fardy

The North Gwillimbury Forest includes the York Regional Forest and the Arnold C. Matthews Nature Reserve. The Reserve will be cut off from the rest of the forest by Metrus' proposed Maple Leaf Estates.