Tag: Greenbelt (Page 1 of 4)

Grimsby Wetlands Gets An Unexpected Visitor

August 14, 2026 / GCFRG

Grimsby had a rather cute and unusual visitor earlier this month.

A River Otter was spotted and photographed at Watcher’s Pond in the Grimsby Wetlands on August 2, believed to be the first known sighting of one in the Fifty Point-Grimsby area.

The otter also seemed quite comfortable with the attention, with photographer Terry Chettle capturing it lounging on the logs, showing off its paws and generally hamming it up for the camera.

Bruce Mackenzie, who along with Laurie Mackenzie coordinates the Grimsby Wetlands Project for the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club, said River Otters are seldom seen in Southern Ontario, although they are known to travel along Lake Ontario and inhabit larger river systems such as the Credit, Bronte and Niagara rivers.

Recent heavy rain may have allowed this one to follow a drainage ditch from the lake into the wetlands and discover one of its larger ponds. Mackenzie believes the otter has likely since returned to Lake Ontario, as the wetlands are not large enough to support the territory and fish supply an otter requires.

The Grimsby Wetlands have attracted other rare visitors in recent years, including Niagara’s first recorded Cinnamon Teal in 2024 and a pair of Least Bitterns that successfully raised five young in 2025.

The wetlands, located along the Lake Ontario shoreline at Grimsby’s west end, have been a Hamilton Naturalists’ Club project since 2001.

The sighting is another reminder of why protecting Grimsby’s remaining wetlands and natural shoreline areas near the radio towers is of paramount importance. There has been development pressure for years on these lands in this part of Grimsby, including areas within and adjacent to the Greenbelt.

Wildlife does not recognize property lines, and wetlands, drainage corridors and undeveloped lands all form part of the habitat that allows species such as this otter to move through the area.

Sometimes it takes a rather photogenic visitor to remind us what could be lost if precious shoreline property is opened up to urban sprawl.

Care to visit? The Grimsby Wetlands are located at 624 Winston Rd, open every day and admission is free.

Notice of Public Meetings: 502 Winston Road Greenbelt Redesignation (Town & Region)

May 23, 2024 / GCFRG

After the Province made good on their promise to rollback all their Greenbelt changes, the developers at 502 Winston have “reactivated” their original Town and Regional Official Plan Amendment applications. The applications are attempting to “redesignate” the Greenbelt property from Specialty Crop/Tender Fruit to the lesser protected Rural designation. This would “pave the way” for an urban boundary expansion and potentially significant development on those lakefront lands.

Must-Read: Fifty Point Park – The Idea

November 30, 2023 / GCFRG

Image Credit: Hamilton Conservation Authority/Fair Dealing

With today being the last day for public comments to be sent to the Province about the reversal of the Greenbelt changes (submit your comments here) and Council’s willingness to see parts of it not be re-protected, it seemed timely to take a look at the history of the Fifty Point area and its natural importance.

Staff Report: Council Urged To Ask Province Not To Return Land To Greenbelt

November 16, 2023 / GCFRG

Following a resolution passed in October requesting the Town submit comments to the Province regarding the reversal of the Greenbelt changes, a Staff Report for the consideration of Council on Monday was published today. The report urges Council to request that the Province NOT to reverse the Greenbelt changes in Grimsby (502 Winston and Cline Road) and leave those parcels out for development.

Greenbelt FOI – How Province Wanted To Avoid A “Donut Hole” At Cline Road

October 30, 2023 / GCFRG

Following Freedom of Information (FOI) requests by Environmental Defence and EcoJustice to the Provincial government, they released a treasure trove of documents related to the Greenbelt fiasco. You can find the repository at this link here.

Province To Review Grimsby Costs of Grimsby and Pickering

October 26, 2023 / GCFRG

On Monday, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra announced at Queens Park that after reviewing previous decisions made by the Ministry, it would be introducing legislation to roll back Provincial changes made to Official Plans and Official Plan Amendments in 13 municipalities, including those made to the Region of Niagara’s OP (list of changes here).

For the most part, this applies to urban boundary changes. Calandra said this was part of “building a better relationship” with municipalities. That also includes the Minister “reviewing costs” of Grimsby and Pickering, reversing course on his statements last week that would have municipalities on the hook for incurred expenses.

The costs incurred by Pickering hover around $360K, while Grimsby’s costs have been pegged between $82K to $88K.

While the Province intends on making municipalities whole, officially no “person” will have any recourse under Bill 136 aka “The Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023” should it receive Royal Assent in its current version.

With provisions such as “Proceedings barred”, “No costs award”, “No remedy” and “Retrospective effect”, the Province has attempted to prevent litigation through legislation between anyone, be it the Province, developers, municipalities and other classes related to this whole affair.

Questions Over “Cline Road”, Same Greenbelt Consultant Attends Recent Town Planning Event

October 23, 2023 / GCFRG

Photo Credit: Google/Google Earth, Fair Trading.

While most of the posts here on the Greenbelt flip-flop and its relation to Grimsby have focused on the waterfront lands at 502 Winston Road, not much has been said about the former Greenbelt properties between Oakes Road North/Kelson North and Main Street West/CN rail tracks. That is until now.

Global News has taken a detailed look at some of the lands there. Parts of the lands in question are owned or controlled by an employee (executive assistant) of LiUNA, a large Ford-friendly construction union that has local offices on Hunter Road in Grimsby.

The $10 Million Waterfront Gamble: Part 4 – That’s Not My Letter!

October 19, 2023 / GCFRG

Well, it’s been about 10 months since the last look at the waterfront Greenbelt land and future development of 502 Winston Road. Needless to say, quite a bit has transpired since. The conclusion in that December 2022 post was that an Auditor General’s report, IC investigation and/or more formal investigative process (RCMP) was needed over the whole Greenbelt process. That suggestion has now come to bear fruit.

RCMP Launches Criminal Investigation Into The Province’s Greenbelt Scandal

October 10, 2023 / GCFRG

Image Credit: Canadian Press/Fair Dealing

As was speculated in an earlier post, the RCMP have now officially gone from exploratory mode in the Greenbelt scandal, to a full-blown criminal investigation. The OPP handed the reins over the matter to the RCMP earlier due to “perceived conflicts” and it now looks like the RCMP findings and recent events has lead the Mounties to get invasive.

The RCMP stated they would be investigating “allegations associated to the (Greenbelt) decision” and will be handed by the “Sensitive and International Investigations Unit” of RCMP’s O Division (Ontario).

In response to the news, Premier Ford’s office released this statement, in part:

“We have zero tolerance for any wrongdoing and expect anyone involved in the decision-making about the Greenbelt lands to have followed the letter of the law,”

Given that statement, it should be interesting to see where the trail leads the RCMP. With some of the outlandish claims by the government, developers and lobbyists in either the Auditor General’s report, or that of the Integrity Commissioner, surely there will be some takedowns or people being squeezed to name names in return for reduced charges.

It is unknown how long the investigation will take, however given the gravity of the matter, the RCMP will be quite comprehensive in reviewing this matter and laying charges, as necessary.

A day late and a dollar short, Ford’s mea culpa moment of calling the Greenbelt swap a mistake with plans to reverse the changes clearly did not throw the Feds off the trail at all.

More to come.

Ford To Reverse Course On Greenbelt, Said He Broke A Promise

September 21, 2023 / GCFRG

Photo Credit: The Environment Journal/Fair Trading

With the resignation of two Ministers, a possible RCMP criminal investigation and many skeletons waiting to come out of the closet, Premier Doug Ford today did what the public has been telling him to do from the beginning, reverse the Greenbelt “land swap” and build elsewhere.

At a press conference just down the QEW in Niagara Falls he said he was “very sorry” and that he was acting in “the best of intentions”. He stated:

“I made a promise to you that I wouldn’t touch the Greenbelt. I broke that promise. And for that, I’m very, very sorry. I pride myself on keeping our promises. It was a mistake to open the Greenbelt. It was a mistake to establish a process that moves too fast”

For someone who was defiant right up to recent days over the Greenbelt changes, to surrender as he has, shows that it likely feeling more than the public heat over the matter. The big question is whether the RCMP will buy this or will they move forward to investigate if there was any criminality in the matter. One way or another, there needs to be an independent inquiry into what really happened.

While this may close the book for many in the public on the scandal, there are still many tall-tales to be told… so watch out for the next post.