<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Good Day,<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">It has now been more than a month since the provincial government announced a planning proposal to expand the Greenbelt to the Waterloo Moraine, Paris-Galt Moraine, and other important water resources facing development pressures.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Below is the original e-mail that I circulated with the press releases. The ensuing media coverage has been quite positive across the province. I have attached some of the articles below.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">We are now about one-third of the way through the 90 day consultation process window and apparently the initial response has been good with over 1,000 submissions being sent to the province (hopefully most supportive of Greenbelt expansion). Please be sure to send your comments and support to the province as soon as possible at:</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><a href="http://www.ontario.ca/greenbelt" class="">www.ontario.ca/greenbelt</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">You can also automatically send an e-mail to the Premier and Cabinet Ministers at:</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><a href="http://www.protectourwaters.ca" class="">www.protectourwaters.ca</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">The Region of Waterloo Staff and Councillors still seem reluctant about the idea of Greenbelt expansion to Waterloo Region. Kevin Eby, the former Region of Waterloo Director of Community Planning has authored an excellent article in the January issue of Ontario Planning Journal outlining the reasons why Greenbelt expansion should be supported by planners and politicians. I have attached a PDF of this article below. Please review the article and be sure to bring up these points to address the concerns of any officials that you are speaking with in the weeks ahead.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">We are anticipating that the province is going to announce the dates of local town hall meetings soon and we expect locations to include Kitchener, Guelph and Brantford. I will keep you posted as soon as the dates and locations are known as it will be important that there is strong attendance to demonstrate firsthand the strong public desire for Greenbelt expansion and better environmental protection.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Please share any questions or ideas.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Thanks,</div><div class="">Kevin.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class="">Kevin Eby OPPI Article:</b></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""></div></body></html>