As a farmer whose family has…

As a farmer whose family has farmed the same farm in Caledon for 150 years, I am supportive of the proposed policies to form a new provincial planning policy instrument.

I disagree with those who have concerns with the loss of farmland as well as those who are concerned with food security.
The daily loss of farmland to actual urban development is in fact a very small percentage as compared to the numbers that we have heard in the press. Ontario actually saw an increase in cultivated acreage as compared to earlier census figures.
Any proposed increase in population will not result in food
security issues. Food security may be a difficult issue to address when seventy percent of our
crop production is exported. Throughout Covid 19, Ontario faced numerous challenges to our
supply chain which spurred innovation within our fruit and vegetable sector and our processing
and packaging sectors to name just a few. As we pivot to more locally grown food through
innovation, Ontario farmers have an opportunity to serve a growing population and benefit from
retaining an increased market share of our consumers’ grocery budget.

Increased severances in rural areas will pose significant challenges to existing
and expanding livestock operations. Will we need to revisit the current MDS guidelines or should
the owners of new severances agree to some type of an acknowledgment that could be put on
title that they will not object to normal farm practices on the surrounding farm?
In many circumstances farm severances support the succession of the family farm. In 1970, my
mother was widowed in her 40’s when my brother and I were 14 years old and 9 years old
respectively. Through the sale of the allowed 3 one acre lots per 100 acre parcel, we had the
resources to hold onto the farm until such time that we were both old enough to farm. We both
maintain farming operations to this day.
The increase in farmland values is another reason to support farmland severances. It is virtually
impossible for one sibling that is a farmer to buy out the other non farming sibling’s share of a farming
enterprise upon the death of a parent. Upon reaching such an impasse, the land is often sold to
settle an estate and the farming sibling is forced to exit the industry.
When farms such as previously mentioned or any other 100- acre or 200-acre farms are bought
and absorbed into larger farming enterprises, it is not uncommon for the purchaser to demolish
the older house and barns on the property to reduce the tax assessment along with his tax bill.
This results in a lower assessment for the municipality and an increased mill rate for the existing
ratepayers. Such practices result in a net loss of housing in some of our rural areas.

To direct all future growth to urban areas exclusively would be short sighted without fully
understanding the challenges of doing so. The mayor of Brampton stated last week that they
currently have building permits for thousands of apartment units on hold due to undersized
wastewater services in an older community that did not anticipate growth of this magnitude in
their downtown core. The time required as well as the cost to replace all pipe to the sewer main
trunks not only creates a massive increase in housing costs, but it also disrupts local residents
and businesses for years to come.
There are other infrastructure deficits within built boundaries such as insufficient storm water
retention and catchment areas and a shortage of schools, parks and recreational areas.

Ontario has promoted intensification within our urban boundaries for upwards of 20 years.
Throughout that period, a series of unintended consequences have materialized that have had a
detrimental impact on the affordability and the availability of housing in Ontario.
During Covid 19 many families moved out of our urban areas for reasons of affordability, housing
choices, safety from crime and fear of infection and the ability to work from home. A new
phenomenon occurred called leaping the Greenbelt whereby new homeowners relocated from
the GTA beyond the Greenbelt to Simcoe County to name just one municipality.

Many of our small rural communities have experienced a relocation of schools and recreational
facilities to larger urban communities due to previous planning policies. If Ontario is to retain vibrant rural settlement areas, those areas must
have an opportunity to expand their settlement areas to sustain not only their residents but the
rural economy surrounding them. Expanding employment areas are also vital to stimulating the
rural economy. All too often, these opportunities are denied to municipalities that are constrained by the Greenbelt and its restrictive policies.

I look forward to the passing of the new provincial planning policy for the benefit of both urban and rural Ontarians.