I am echoing the comments…

I am echoing the comments from the OFA (Ontario Federation of Agriculture) with my own personal commentary.

As a seventh generation farm family (and future farm operator) I understand that you are interested in hearing from farmers in Ontario to gauge our reaction to Bill 97 and the new proposed Provincial Planning Statement.

I am writing to voice my opposition to the proposal to allow for the severing of three lots per farm parcel.

There are many good reasons why existing legislation restricts residential lot creation in agricultural areas. Allowing farmland severance will fragment and shrink a finite agricultural land base, increase conflicts between residential uses and farm operations, inflate farmland prices, and increase costs to municipalities.

While there may be some farmers who welcome the opportunity to have their farm severed into lots, I feel this is a short-sighted approach. We have a housing shortage in this province but severing farm parcels is not the way to balance that shortage. Building houses at the cost of impacting the ability of farmers to produce agricultural products is not a wise decision. Limiting lot creation protects farmland for farmers so they can continue to feed the towns, villages, and cities in the province.

Adding a significant number of new lots with owners not familiar with farm, or even rural life, will make it more difficult for me to maintain good relations and to produce the food, fibre, and/or fuel my neighbors need to live.

I also support the current and future use of Minimum Distance Separation (MDS) standards to regulate development in rural areas.

I am proud to be part of a farming family in Ontario with some of the best soil and growing conditions in North America. All I ask is that the land still be here to produce agricultural products for a growing nation, to continue to protect the land and waterways, and for our children and grandchildren to have the choice to farm and to invest in their businesses.

I respectfully ask that the government step back from its proposal to allow for the severing of farmland parcels in recognition of the current and future value and importance of agriculture to the province’s economy, food security, and to ensuring vibrant rural communities. Our finite and irreplaceable farmland needs to be reserved to produce food, not to build houses.

I feel that our way of life is at risk, and could not be recovered. The richness our lives and that of the entire province hangs in the balance. I ask you to please reconsider.