GTA’s workhorse wetlands are under threat by development

Driving through the Greater Toronto Area, you probably wouldn’t recognize the value of the wetlands you are passing. You might even consider them an eyesore. Sure, they have their warts. Invasive plants, scattered trash — urban development exerts stress on ecosystems.

But urban wetlands are valuable; they are our workhorses. Maybe they are not as awe-inspiring as wetlands in our provincial parks, but they are doing most of the heavy lifting when it comes to flood protection and water-quality improvement. They save us millions by retaining storm waters and removing nutrients that cause noxious algae blooms. They also serve as front-line workers against climate change, sucking carbon out of the air. Our urban wetlands work around the clock for us, performing what we scientists call “ecosystem services.”

This is why we were floored by the recent move by Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan to bypass Ontario’s natural heritage policies to build warehouse space over 57 acres of wetland officially designated as “provincially significant” — the lower Duffins Creek wetland complex on the north shore of Lake Ontario. This proposal by Pickering Developments Inc. was approved by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark on Oct. 30, in direct contravention of the 2017 Ontario Wetland Strategy target of halting the loss of wetland area and function by 2025.

Southern Ontario has already lost more than 70 per cent of its wetlands, and urban wetlands of this size and significance are precious. Yet, Mayor Ryan argued on Nov. 4 that the Duffins Creek wetland complex lacks ecological value, and therefore destroying it will have no impact. As wetland scientists who have spent our careers studying wetlands, we are outraged by this claim.

Residents of Durham Region know the economic, recreational and ecological potential of their Lake Ontario waterfront, and they have seen it struggle with nuisance algae growth and public health closures of beaches. If the proposed portion of the Duffins Creek wetland complex is destroyed, it will worsen the water quality concerns along the Ajax and Pickering waterfronts.

Durham and York regions have already spent over $1 billion upgrading the Duffins Creek Water Pollution Control Plant adjacent to the wetland. The improvements to water quality from these upgrades will be offset by increased nutrient loading if the wetlands are paved.

Let us not lose decades of policy advances aimed at protecting wetlands to political special interests aimed at lining the pockets of a few. It is time to protect our silent benefactors — our wetland workhorses. Dr. Rebecca C. Rooney is an associate professor of biology at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Andrea Kirkwood is an associate professor of biology at Ontario Tech University. Dr. Nandita B. Basu is an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and earth and environmental sciences at the University of Waterloo.