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PC Leader Doug Ford says he would open up the protected Greenbelt around the GTA for housing development.

“We will open up the Greenbelt, not all of it, we’re going to open a big chunk of it up and we’re going to start building and making it more affordable and putting more houses out there,” Ford said in a video released Monday by Ontario Environment Minister Chris Ballard.

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“The demand for single dwelling homes is huge but no one can afford them, so we need to start building affordable housing,” Ford said.

Ballard, the Liberal candidate for Newmarket-Aurora, said Ford’s comments reflect his disdain for the natural environment.

“Ford’s promise to pave the Greenbelt not only encourages sprawl, but it puts farmland, wild land and wetlands including ravines and rivers currently protected at risk of being encroached and even replaced by new suburban development,” Ballard said in a statement.