The Oak Ridges Steering Committee (Toronto Council Subcommittee on the Oak Ridges Moraine) has completed its mandate and is no longer active. The following information is provided for archival purposes.

The river stone bottom of this kettle lake is an excellent example of the moraine's geologic composition of sands and gravels. River stone provides critical spawning habitat for a number of fish that find habitat in the moraine's more than 30 watershed's.

1. Why is Toronto interested in preserving the moraine? Won't this cause other council's to object to our proposals in retaliation?

   This isn't about politics, this is about good environmental planning to preserve and protect unique regional land features for future generations.

2. How can Toronto call itself an environmentally-friendly city when it's fleet vehicles are still run on diesel and beaches are often closed due to pollution?

   Toronto is working on many initiatives to improve the environment including subwatershed planning (making our rivers healthy again), stream rehabilitation, restoring the waterfront, improving water quality and implementing stormwater management improvement projects, and working on diverting up to 50 per cent of our waste by the year 2006.

3. Ontario has plenty of fresh water so why is protecting the moraine so important?

   It's true that Ontario has a vast amount of fresh water but that amount is finite: it is vital that we not only protect our community's fresh water supply from further degradation but work to improve it. It's important to remember that the source of our three major river systems, the Humber, Don and Rouge Rivers, are all on the moraine and that the moraine is the source of water for a quarter of a million people living in this region.

4. What problems are caused by Urban Sprawl?

   We've understood for a long time now that in order to protect the environment a more comprehensive approach to development is needed. This includes looking at the impacts on other regions, transportation capacity, the need for more public transit, and preserving and protecting the environment.

5. How significant is the moraine as a natural land feature to southern Ontario and why does it matter if zoning is changed from a rural to urban area?

   We believe the moraine is one of the most significant natural land features in southern Ontario and should be preserved and protected. It represents our last chance to save what's left of the region's natural forests not just for the present but for future generations.

6. Why hasn't the province acted to protect the moraine?

   We believe the province has recognized the importance of the moraine to all of southern Ontario but needs to take more of a leadership role.

7. What about studies that say development can and should proceed on the moraine?

   The studies developers do, tend to focus only on their own lands. We need to work with the studies that view the moraine as an entire eco-system (bio-region).

   In addition, over 450 scientists have signed A Protection Statement for the Oak Ridges Moraine. It calls for tough provincial action including establishment of a major no-development green corridor east to west on the moraine, which spans 160 kilometres across the top of the Greater Toronto Area and beyond.