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A new report defending the region’s bid to turn Wilmot farmland into an industrial site doesn’t pass the smell test, say critics of the plan.
Environmental and financial information presented in a report for Waterloo Region council is not accurate, argues the Fight for Farmland Group, which is calling on councillors to reject the document prepared by staff.
Of particular concern are what organization spokesman Alfred Lowrick calls misleading claims about the economic benefits of the project. He notes there’s no information about how many jobs will be created, for instance.
Given that plans to acquire 770 acres of farmland in Wilmot Township appears to be a speculative venture, with no specific project in mind, the region has remained evasive, providing few details, he said.
“People don’t like being changed, and if there was better transparency, people would be more likely to buy in,” said Lowrick.
“Everyone has a specific concern. My issue is a lack of process. I understand growth and jobs are required, but community input should be asked for,” he added, noting everyone in the region should be concerned about how the government is handling the situation.
The group has asked a number of questions, including freedom-of-information requests, only to be stonewalled by regional officials.
The Region of Waterloo argues the project is needed to secure thousands of high-paying jobs and create economic prosperity, maintaining the site is essential in attracting billion-dollar investment to the area.
At stake is some 770 acres of farmland in the area of Nafziger and Bleams roads south of New Hamburg that the region is looking to turn into an industrial site.
In March, landowners in the area received notices from a private firm, Canacre, on behalf of the region, urging them to sell or have the land taken through the expropriation process.
Requests for information from regional and township officials met with little response, and the Fight for Farmland Group was born.
The sweeping scale is unlike anything seen before, and comes even as there are already industrial sites established elsewhere in the region offering services and transportation access.
Lowrick described the size of the land grab as the distance between Kitchener’s city hall and the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market.
Thus far, the owners of most of the land have resisted purchase efforts, with the menace of expropriation hanging over everyone’s heads from day-one.
“It’s always there. It’s always a threat over our heads,” said Lowrick.
In addition to doing away with valuable farmland, the region has omitted the financial and agricultural costs associated with the destruction of 160 acres of corn crops just a month prior to harvest, he added, noting no rational explanation has been offered.
That alone should have the public concerned and speaking out against the project, said Lowrick.
“It’s stressful for the community and upsetting that in the community many of us have grown up in, these processes haven’t been followed,” Lowrick said, calling on regional council to put the process on hold pending more information. “It’s falling down here. We ask them to do a better job.
“We’re doing this for our kids and our community,” he added of the rationale for the group’s effort.
Their calls for answers are echoed by the Waterloo Federation of Agriculture, where vice president Mark Reusser has posed challenging questions that the region has yet to answer.
“No one will talk. There are no answers,” he said after sending requests and receiving almost no replies.
Reusser said this is a frustrating process for the public, farmers and councillors.
Farmers have been told to plan not to plant crops, making it challenging to plan for the future. “What are these farmers supposed to do? They bought that land in good faith,” Reusser said.
The lack of transparency on behalf of the region is concerning. “Waterloo has a culture of doing public process right. We’ve drifted away – there is no public involvement.”
“Is this the kind of culture we want in Waterloo Region? That’s not the way this region works,” Reusser added.
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