Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife met with Wilmot farmer Eva Wagler, Ontario Federation of Agriculture director Mark Reusser, and Fight For Farmland spokesperson Alfred Lowrick on August 22 to discuss how the uncertainty that has been created by the Region of Waterloo’s land assembly in Wilmot is destabilizing the local economy.
A video of the conversations is available on Fife’s social media, including YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5cpKbUE_XA
The Region of Waterloo is attempting to assemble 770 acres of Class 1 farmland that will be rezoned and made shovel-ready for industrial use. If farmers refuse to sell, the Region has threatened to expropriate their land.
Fife said, “There has been plenty of local opposition, including delegations and protests, as Wilmot residents make it clear that they are not willing hosts for a possible factory. But the Region is still attempting to own several properties, either by negotiation or expropriation, and their direction is coming from the provincial government.”
Eva Wagler, along with her husband Tim, owns St. Jacobs Foods. Their farm is not one of the ones that is being targeted, but the close proximity of the land assembly area is causing plenty of uncertainty about the business’s future.
“We have stopped any capital investments into our farm because how can we plan for the future when we don't know what the future holds?” said Wagler.
Mark Reusser talked about the anxiety that is being caused by the land grab and potential loss of jobs.
“I'm hearing from the farmers who are directly affected that this is probably the most stressful time in their entire life,” he said. “To build a new barn or to tile your land is an incredibly expensive operation is, something that you take a lot of time deciding on and a lot of time planning, and it costs a lot of money. You can't do that if you're not secure in knowing how long you will have the land.”
He added, “I think in a province where we're losing 319 acres a day of productive farmland, something needs to be done.”
Alfred Lowrick told Fife that this adversity has made the community stronger and brought people together, even those who aren't farmers.
“The community itself has been very supportive. We have over 3,500 signs that are scattered all over the community, and then we also had 40,000 signatures on our petition,” he said.
Fife noted, “I've been talking about the province since day one. The province has enabled this to happen, and if the province stops funding it, then the farmland grab will end.”
From left: Mark Reusser (Ontario Federation of Agriculture director), Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife, Eva Wagler (St. Jacobs Foods), and Alfred Lowrick (Fight For Farmland spokesperson).
Photo credit: Catherine Fife MPP
Eva Wagler and Catherine Fife at Wagler’s farm in New Hamburg.
Photo credit: Catherine Fife MPP