I have been farming for over…

I have been farming for over 40 years and I have never seen such an overwhelming attack on the farming sector. This is severely limit the ability to produce food in Ontario.

Ontario's prime agricultural land is a finite, non-renewable resource that comprises less than 5% of Ontario's land base1. Ontario has lost 20% of our farmland in the last 40 years. With the growing rate of farmland loss in the province, currently at a rate of 319 acres per day, it is more important than ever before that we protect our prime agricultural areas. Once farmland is developed, it is gone forever.

Farmland is the foundation of the agri-food sector that provides us with locally produced foods, employs more than 750,000 Ontarians, or 1-in-10 of the province’s labour force, and contributes over $47 billion annually to the province's GDP.

While I recognize the need to address issues of housing availability and affordability, I am concerned that several of the policies in the proposed Provincial Planning Statement and in Bill 97 will not contribute to the housing issues. Bill 97 and the proposed PPS will further only exacerbate sprawling development and fragment Ontario’s best farmland, threatening the viability of the agricultural sector.

The sections in Bill 97 and the new PPS that are the most concerning and must be addressed include:

The weakening of policy language that will undermine the implementation of agricultural system planning that will lead to inconsistencies in designating prime agricultural areas;
The removal of municipal comprehensive reviews that assessed settlement boundary expansion to protect prime agricultural land;
Reducing existing density targets for fast-growing municipalities and removing density targets for the remaining municipalities within the Greater Golden Horseshoe. This will lead to inefficiencies of land use in existing settlement areas and will require boundaries to expand on farmland more quickly; and
The requirement for municipalities to permit up to three severances on prime agricultural areas for residential lot creation.
The additional powers afforded to the use of Minister's Zoning Orders (MZOs) in the land use planning process.
With the current rate of farmland loss, Ontario’s farmland will be completely lost in the next 100 years. We do not have time to sprawl and fragment Canada’s best farmland.

I urge you to address these concerns and save Ontario’s limited agricultural land. Until these amendments are made, I urge to vote NO on Bill 97 and the newly proposed Provincial Planning Statement.

References

[1] Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 2016. Guidelines on Permitted Uses in Ontario’s Prime Agricultural Areas. Retrieved from http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/landuse/facts/permitteduseguide.pdf

[2] Statistics Canada. 2021. Census of Agriculture. Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3210015301&pickMe…

[3] Ontario Federation of Agriculture. 2020. Agriculture Matters – A Guide for Municipal Councilors and Staff. Retrieved from https://ofa.on.ca/resources/guide-for-municipal-councillors-and-staff/