I am a supporter of the Food…

I am a supporter of the Food & Water First movement and appreciate the opportunity to comment on the proposed Bill 66. I participated in the recent review of the Co-ordinated Land Use proposals for the Greenbelt, Niagara Escarpment, Oak Ridges Moraine and Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth plans. As you know, the previous government recommended expanding and strengthening the Greenbelt. It is deeply disturbing to see the current government threaten this world-renowned and vital region with Bill 66.

Food & Water First is the legacy of the Stop the Mega Quarry campaign, the grassroots citizens’ movement that defeated the proposed Highland Mega Quarry in 2012. The application for a 2,300-acre quarry on 6,500-acres of Class 1 soil at the headwaters of five river systems exposed significant flaws in current land-use planning. The proposed Mega Quarry was slated to abut the Niagara Escarpment which is part of the Greenbelt. It would have impacted water supplies for farmers and communities in the Greenbelt. A massive mining operation adjacent to the Greenbelt would have been devastating. Recent suggestions by politicians to carve up the Greenbelt for developers are extremely alarming. Bill 66 contains loopholes for the government to harm the Greenbelt and the benefits it provides.

As stated in the Discussion Document for the Co-ordinated Review, southern Ontario is home to unique natural resources:

“It has some of Canada’s most important and productive farmland. Its fertile soil, moderate climate and abundant water resources support agricultural production that cannot be duplicated elsewhere in the province or country.”

The statistics are sobering:

1. A mere 0.5 percent of Canada is comprised of Class 1 soil (the rarest).

2. Just over ½ of that 0.5 percent of Class I soil is in Ontario.

3. So far, we have lost nearly 20 percent of this soil due to development and
other non-farming activities.

4. Ontario is losing up to 350 acres of farmland (not just Class 1) each day.

Nearly one-half of Ontario’s fruit farms and one-fifth of its vegetable farms are within the Greenbelt, a critical agricultural resource. Thanks to the food produced within these protected lands and outside the Greenbelt, Ontario has the largest agri-food sector in the country. It employs 740-thousand people and contributes $34-billion to the economy each year.

Therefore, I support tighter protections for agricultural lands within the Greenbelt and a robust Agricultural System as proposed by the former government:

Prime agricultural areas, including specialty crop areas, will be designated in accordance with mapping identified by the Province and these areas will be protected for long-term use for agriculture.

It is estimated that the population of the Greater Golden Horseshoe region will grow almost 50% to 13.5 million people by 2041. Water will be critical for a healthy population and economy. We will need it to drink and to grow the food that will sustain us. Strengthening the Greenbelt to protect all fresh water resources is imperative.

Robust farmland and water protection policies are also essential to curbing sprawl that devours prime farmland (Classes 1-4 soil). While there is pressure from developers to open up the Greenbelt for unnecessary development, this must be resisted. Once food-producing land is paved over and developed, it’s gone forever. The government must not preside over the permanent loss of the only agricultural soils capable of growing food and key to Canada’s largest agri-food sector.

The Frontier Centre for Public Policy has found intensification has eased the pressure on greenfield land in the GTHA and GGH. It states there are about 800,000 housing units in the current supply, far exceeding what is needed to accommodate the forecast population growth to the year 2031. It goes even further: “A strong argument can be made that we do not need any more greenfield land to accommodate the new Growth Plan forecasts which takes us out to the year 2041.” More people are living on less land. Therefore, there’s no reason to open up the Greenbelt for housing or other development.

There is a tremendous opportunity for the province to implement visionary land-use policies that will ensure a positive legacy for Ontario. We are fortunate to have the best soil and climate conditions in the country. These natural gifts have helped grow the largest agri-food sector in Canada, feeding millions of people here and elsewhere. We must not squander these gifts. I strongly urge the government to strengthen and expand the Greenbelt, not allow it to be opened up for development.