Ms Laurie Scott (Haliburton-Victoria-Brock): I rise today to draw the attention of this House to a concern I have with the government's current greenbelt legislation.

The concern that I'm raising has to do with the lands located outside of the greenbelt, rather than those located within its boundaries. Many people are concerned that restrictions placed on lands within the greenbelt will place additional pressures on those lands adjacent to it. The boundaries of the greenbelt are in many cases more political than scientific. Part of my riding of Haliburton-Victoria-Brock is in the greenbelt and part is outside of it. The greenbelt boundary is along the township line.

There is a very real possibility that development may leapfrog over the greenbelt on to lands that have not yet been a focal point for development. I wonder about how this will impact local features and what protections will be in place for environmentally sensitive areas like wetlands, endangered species habitats and old-growth forests.

Although in many cases some of the development will be welcomed by local communities, the arbitrary nature of the boundaries has ended up including lands in the greenbelt that should, based on science, be excluded, while excluding lands that many environmentalists believe should be included.

I don't think anybody wants to protect land on one side of the street while opening up land that is just as in need of protection to unfettered development. But that is exactly what is being done, because you have not addressed the possibility of new development on environmentally sensitive lands located outside the greenbelt boundaries.