NDACT's submission regarding the co-ordinated land use review
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- Published on Tuesday, 26 May 2015 20:09
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Dear Ministers McMeekin and Mauro, Mr. Crombie and Review Advisors:
Thank you for the invitation to participate in the Co-ordinated Land Use Review of the Greenbelt, Niagara Escarpment, Oak Ridges Moraine and Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth plans. Our group, the North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT), believes these vital provincial plans should be strengthened and expanded, so that Ontario’s best farmland and water resources are better protected for our economic and food security. NDACT has recent experience in campaigning for farmland and water resource preservation. From 2009 to 2012, we led a large and successful citizens’ movement that stopped the Highland Mega Quarry - the largest proposed quarry in Canadian history – on 6,500-acres of Class 1 soil at the headwaters of five river systems abutting the Greenbelt.
The campaign engaged thousands of rural and urban residents, and highlighted the need to protect critical agricultural land and water resources inside and outside the provincial plans. It also gave birth to the Food & Water First movement that continues to press for land-use revisions. NDACT and Food & Water First believe the Co-ordinated Land Use Review is an opportunity to bolster existing protections within these plans and extend them beyond their boundaries. In this, the United Nations International Year of Soils, the Ontario government can lead the country by protecting its farmland and water resources in a bold initiative that would benefit future generations.
We are impressed with the statement in the Discussion Document for the 2015 Co-ordinated Review referring to the unique natural resources of southern Ontario:
“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.”
Thanks to our soil, water and climate conditions, Ontario is home to the largest agri-food sector in the country. It employs 740,000 people and contributes $34-billion to the economy each year. Our fields and orchards not only feed Ontarians, they help feed other parts of the world, as well.
Nearly one-half of Ontario’s fruit farms and one-fifth of its vegetable farms are within the Greenbelt. They must continue to thrive and grow. The drought plaguing California - the largest food producer in the U-S - is a stark reminder that Ontario’s role in feeding itself and other markets is becoming more important. We can no longer rely on cheap produce from California. We must build a resilient agri-food economy as climate change takes its toll. Therefore, NDACT supports tighter protections for agricultural lands within all four provincial plans.
NDACT also recommends: