OFA Calls for Protection of Prime Farmland

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Published on Wednesday, 25 June 2014 20:11

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For Ontario farmers – and Ontarians who rely on local food ?  Farmland is our greatest and most important resource. But despite the vast and diverse area of land that makes up Canada’s second-largest province, less than 5% of it is suitable for food production. And once farmland is gone, it’s never coming back.

Ontario’s soils are classified based on their ability to grow crops. While there are seven classifications, Class 1 through 7 – but only Class 1 through 4 are capable of supporting crop production. Class 1 is the most productive soil and not typical of the majority of Ontario farmland. Classes 2 – 4 are less productive in descending order, but still capable of producing food, fibre and fuel.

But here’s the problem: with growing urban centres and the need for more urban development, Ontario is losing more than 350 acres of farmland every day. If this loss rate continues, Ontario farmers will be unable to meet the growing demand for food in Canada and around the world. And as a non-renewable resource, productive farm land will be lost forever.

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Peer Review of Highland Companies Mega Quarry Documentation is Released

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Published on Wednesday, 25 June 2014 15:41

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... and the results show flawed documentation provided by The Highland Companies

TECHNICAL REVIEW OF SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED BY HIGHLAND COMPANIES IN SUPPORT OF THEIR APPLICATION TO THE MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES (MNR) FOR A CATEGORY 2, CLASS A LICENSE UNDER THE AGGREGATE RESOURCES ACT

Melancthon Township

Prepared by
SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd.
260 Town Centre Blvd., Suite 101
Markham, ON  L3R 8H8

for

Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority
8195 8th Line
Utopia, ON  L0M 1T0

May 16, 2014

The peer review is a real eye opener.

Look at peer review.

Ontario Election Results - Liberal Majority

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Published on Friday, 13 June 2014 03:01

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Congratulations to Kathleen Wynne's Liberal Party.

We look forward to hearing more about the "Farms Forever" program.

Our farmland will be protected.

Party Responses to Questions Regarding Aggregates

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Published on Monday, 09 June 2014 22:54

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PitSense posed a series of questions to all four Dufferin Caledon candidates and requested responses by June 6, 2014.

The questions and answers follow. Please note that the Green Party candidate was the only one to respond.

If elected, what will you do to influence government policy regarding aggregate extraction to ensure that environmental and community impacts are given much greater importance in determining whether or not applications for aggregate extraction licences are granted?

Response from PC incumbent MPP - no response

Response from Liberal candidate - no response

Response from NDP candidate - no response

Response from Green Party candidate - Our environment and communities do not have a champion to protect them from the adverse effects associated with aggregate extraction. I want to be that champion.

·             There are a few key policies we need to correct in order to address the inequalities inherent in the approvals process.

·             The first hurdle is the "no need to show need." Aggregate is being consumed heavily in this province and being sold off at "rock bottom" prices.

·             This policy has to change.

·             The Green Party, in its platform, has acknowledged the need to increase levies on aggregates.

·             The second policy revolved around the "close to market" requirement. Certainly pollution can be reduced by limiting transit but this is not the only solution. This policy is used to excuse the destruction of many rural communities who happen to lie adjacent or near to major urban centres.

·             Third, the "interim use" definition. Until we are adequately rehabilitating aggregate mines at a rate comparable to approvals being given, this policy is not necessarily reflective of the true nature of these operations.

·             To better enable local decision-making, the Green Party is advocating for the overhaul of the Ontario Municipal Board. Citizens should not have to fear bankruptcy in order to stand up to protect their homes and their environment.

·             Air quality and water protections are other key aspects of the approval of operations that does not receive adequate attention.

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Can farmland save urban renewal?

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Published on Saturday, 24 May 2014 02:53

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In 1973,Oregon State passed a law to protect farmland and they drew a circle around every town and city in order to curtail urban sprawl. This was at the height of suburbamania when "new towns" were spreading like spilt milk across North America, from Levittown and Irvine in the U.S. to our homegrown Meadowvale and Erin Mills in Mississauga. In 1973, Erin Mills was 8,000 acres of sprawling, pastoral farmland and today it's 8,000 acres of cookie-cutter homes and a labyrinth of malls that shopaholics can't navigate in a week. So what have we learned about the clash between rural and urban land value? Not much.

Forty years of hindsight has yet to foster much foresight as most planners and politicians remain wedded to an economic model in which urban growth competes with rural interests. They still think we need to trade pristine farmland for big box stores and herds of McMansions – not to mention a mega-incinerator – in order to increase urban conveniences and tax revenue. But as Jane Jacobs explained in her 1970 book, The Economy of Cities, growth comes from diversity, not endless suburbs, strip malls and industrial parks.

Towns like Port Hope and Cobourg should reexamine the myth of growing out and start growing up (no pun intended) by thinking like Portland, Oregon did 40 years ago: preserve agricultural land, increase height and density within current boundaries and invest heavily in downtowns as people places. It requires a different vision, even if it’s 40 years late.

In the 19th and early 20th century, small towns grew out of rich agricultural heartlands and shared a symbiotic relationship of value and respect. But by the 1950s, towns were weaning themselves off the respect for land and starting to worship the gods of materialism and property taxes. The promise of easy revenue and jobs turned many town councils and planners into land-for-money prostitutes as they ignored the long-term balance and value of the rural-urban relationship. The growing out became a hollowing out as downtowns deteriorated and the land was paved with asphalt, as far as a politician’s eye could see.

If Jane Jacobs and Oregon were so prescient in the 1970s why was Mike Harris so shortsighted in the 1990s? Because Harris’s not-so-common-sense-revolution was based on cost efficiencies through forced consolidation and amalgamation, but Oregon's common sense was rooted in long-term cost savings and balanced growth through rural and urban collaboration. And it has been worth it. They recognized that rural land contributes to urban living and is a primary reason why urbanites live next to rural settings where they have access to Nature’s rolling parkland and local farmers supplying local stores, markets and restaurants.

This inherent value should never be paved over or over taxed to the point that rural and urban citizens become divided and the latter are left living in hollowed out towns. Why would any Northumberland politician consider converting more farmland to commercial use without first investigating if there isn’t a better way to renew and grow a town? Why not visit Oregon to learn how to save farmland and towns versus visit Poland to see how to burn garbage for money?

It’s election time in Ontario and that’s an opportunity. More citizens need to get involved before our irreplaceable rural assets are gone and our urbanites move to greener pastures. Port Hope is reviewing its Official Plan and, like Cobourg, trying to save and revitalize its downtown. So why not challenge candidates to get Ontario to do what Oregon’s governor did 40 years ago and have the farmlands help renew the towns rather than the towns degrade the farmlands? It might not be too late.

By David Hughes
Posted on Northumberland Today, May 15, 2014