Green Party leader to support new NDACT campaign

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Published on Thursday, 09 May 2013 01:58

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Left to right: Paula Conning, Dufferin-Caledon candidate; Mike Schreiner, leader of the Green Party of Ontario; and Carl Cosack, NDACT Chair

Photo submitted by: Paula Conning

Mike Schreiner, leader of the Green Party of Ontario and nominated candidate in the riding of Guelph, will become the first provincial political leader to sign the North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT) Food & Water First pledge.

Mr. Schreiner will join local Dufferin-Caledon candidate Paula Conning to sign the pledge at 10:30 this morning (Thursday) at 287101 10 Sideroad in Mono.

“Basically, we’re going to sign the Food & Water First pledge that will protect our farm land and our water. I’m challenging the other political leaders to do the same,” said Mr. Schreiner.

Food & Water First is an effort to protect farmland in Ontario started by NDACT, the citizen’s group that led successful efforts to kill the mega-quarry in Melanchton township.

Mr. Schreiner is now working to save City of Guelph’s drinking water from irreversible damage with a Green Party sign campaign to raise awareness about a proposed Dolime Quarry.

“I’m dealing with a quarry in Guelph right now that the Ministry of Environment just gave a water-taking permit to that will potentially allow them to dig deeper and threaten 25 per cent of the City of Guelph’s drinking water,” said Mr. Schreiner. “It’s just another example of the fact that provincial legislation and the old parties haven’t taken sufficient action to protect our food and water.”

Mr. Schreiner hopes to inspire other political parties to follow suit with the Green Party’s initiatives and understand the detrimental effects these mega-quarries bestow upon the surrounding environment.

“For me, talk is cheap. We have a lot of people express concern about the megaquarry, but if we don’t change provincial legislation to protect food and water, then we’re going to be right back to having citizens having to spend the time and the money and to fight individual projects one at a time,” he said adding that projects like the mega-quarry are going to continue to arise all over the province if it is not controlled.

“The bottom line is that only 5 per cent of Canada’s land is suitable for growing food. Half of 1 per cent is farm land. If we don’t protect farmland, if we don’t make it a top priority, then we’re not going to be able to feed ourselves. A country that can’t feed itself is less secure than a country that can’t defend itself,” said Mr. Schreiner.

Mr. Schreiner concluded by stating, “I’m going to stand with the community, the farmers and the citizens that are demanding that we put food and water first.”

By Jordan Nunziato

Published in the Orangeville Citizen, May 9, 2013

Environmentalists gather to protect farmland

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Published on Wednesday, 01 May 2013 12:11

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Ontario Farmland Preservation spokesman Bernard Pope will join an AWARE Simcoe panel to discuss how to put food and water first Saturday.

As solar companies moved in Simcoe County, Pope has advocated solar farms be located on non-prime agricultural land.

The panel also includes North Dufferin Agricultural Taskforce chairperson Carl Cosack, whose organization fought and stopped the megaquarry, as well as broadcast activist Dale Goldhawk. Former CBC host Donna Tranquada will emcee the event at Alliston's Circle Theatre.

The discussion which will focus on the Ontario Aggregate Resources Act and how to stop companies from using prime agricultural land for uses other than food and clean water takes place from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

By Barrie Advance Staff

Published in Simcoe County, Apr. 30, 2013

Group working to change aggregate act

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Published on Tuesday, 30 April 2013 18:16

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Photo by Maija Hoggett

ALLISTON - A group of concerned citizens that managed to put a halt to the proposed mega quarry in Melancthon hasn’t stopped working after last year’s victory.

North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce’s (NDACT) Shirley Boxem, told New Tecumseth council last night the group is now focusing on phase two of the mega quarry campaign — ensuring that prime agricultural land and source water is protected. It’s a goal that will require lobbying the government to change the Aggregate Resources Act.

Boxem’s presentation was to ask council members to consider endorsing the Food and Water First campaign.

“We learned throughout the mega quarry campaign how valuable agriculture is to the economy, less than five per cent of Ontario is agriculture land and yet it is the prime economic driver of Ontario,” Boxem said.

While council didn’t take an official stand on the issue this week, New Tecumseth Mayor Mike MacEachern expressed his personal support of the endeavour.

By not having the land protected, he noted there are unintended consequences.

“One of the biggest things that people don’t understand just beyond the fact that development is eating it (prime agriculture land) up, is they’re driving the price up so that people that want to engage in agriculture too are having difficulty amassing the land that they need in order to make their farm operation viable so they’re moving further and further north,” said MacEachern.

To raise awareness for the new leg of the campaign, NDACT has new Food and Water First signs available to replace the Stop the Mega Quarry lawn signs.

“For myself that was the thing that got me to become interested and join NDACT. It was impressive for me to see from Sudbury to Kingston to Niagara thousands of stop the mega quarry signs and I hope to see the same with food and water first signs,” Boxem said. “Clearly these are issues that concern Ontarians.”

AWARE Simcoe is also hosting a public awareness meeting this weekend in Alliston.

The meeting is Saturday (May 4) at the Circle Theatre, 19 Victoria St. E., from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

The meeting will feature Boxem, as well as NDACT chair Carl Cosak, Ontario Farmland Preservation’s Bernard Pope, and AM 740 Radio’s Dale Goldhawk. The MC is Donna Tranquada, a writer and former CBC host.

Local residents wanting to trade in their mega quarry signs for a Food and Water First sign can call AWARE Simcoe member John DeCrombrugghe at 705-435-5167. For new people wanting to support the campaign, the signs are $5.

By Maija Hogget

Published in Simcoe County, Apr. 30, 2013

Prime farmland disappearing under development across Canada

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Published on Monday, 29 April 2013 02:26

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Foreign investment, urbanization, driving up land prices, cost of running farms.

By Jessica Bruno

Published in The Hill Times, Apr. 22, 2103

Canada’s limited amount of prime farmland is disappearing under subdivisions and strip malls, risking the country’s ability to feed itself, say experts.

“Ensuring that we hang on to our agricultural land is really key,” said Abra Brynne, a researcher with Food Secure Canada an umbrella organization for dozens of food banks, growers and community groups nation-wide. 

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Food and water last?

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Published on Thursday, 18 April 2013 00:56

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The review of the Aggregate Resources Act (ARA) waits in political limbo.

ARA review

Photo by Bill Tremblay

Following an 2011 election promise, the provincial Standing Committee on General Government began examining how siting, operations and rehabilitation are handled in the ARA, as well as new industry developments, resource development and fees and royalties.

The committee embarked on a tour of the province, visiting communities to gather input on the aggregate extraction process.

However, when former premier Dalton McGuinty resigned and prorogued parliament, the ARA review was derailed.

“Because everything died with prorogation, we have to agree as parties that we want to reinstitute the work that had been done in the last session,” said general government committee member Rosario Marchese, NDP MPP for Trinity-Spadina.

When the committee returned, they began studying issues of gridlock and auto insurance. Marchese explained the committee’s current focus doesn’t mean review of the ARA is on the backburner.

“I think there is going to be general agreement for us to do a report with recommendations based on what we heard in those hearings,” Marchese said. “I’m very optimistic it will happen, and soon.”

Before the ARA review is revived, a subcommittee must meet to discuss how the information will be used, with all parties agreeing on returning to the issue.

“It will happen. I am very interested with moving on with that,” Marchese said. “It’s just a question of bringing it forth.”

Aggregate fees, self-regulation and agriculture became recurring themes during the committee’s provincial tour.

“Farmland is something we heard strong, strong views in terms of making sure we protect farmland,” Marchese said.

Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones also blamed prorogation for disrupting the review.

“I’m pretty frustrated we weren’t able to finish it because the house prorogued,” Jones said, who sat on the committee during its Orangeville stop. “The positive was we did get to hear all the public input.”

The ARA review information could find a permanent home collecting dust.

“There is certainly value studying gridlock and auto insurance,” Jones said. “Part of me wishes the ministry is now not going to ignore all of the information they heard and collected.”

Carl Cosack, chair of the North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Task Force (NDACT) remains confident the committee will recommend changes to the ARA.

“You’re always concerned, but I’m fundamentally an extremely positive person,” Cosack said. “All along this process I have fundamentally believed that those people who run for public office actually want to do good things.”

Cosack appeared before the committee in Toronto and Orangeville, when they toured the province gathering public input.

“The status quo just isn’t sufficient for 2013. We’re really looking that this gets to a report stage for sure,” Cosack said. “We hope that everybody sees the wisdom in finishing what they spent good energy on.”

Although the review of the ARA is on hold, the Food and Water First Campaign is in full swing.

“I don’t know how it got to be such a wave of work and interest,” Cosack said, a spokesperson for the campaign.

The campaign has attracted a broad spectrum of support, from municipalities to the David Suzuki Foundation to small businesses.

“It’s a little bizarre," Cosack said. “Normally the financial sector and David Suzuki don’t align on a common cause.”

Food and Water First also serves to remind Queen’s Park of the movement behind its cause.

“I think the movement Ontario-wide has been on Queen’s Park radar all along,” Cosack said.

By Bill Tremblay

Published in the "Orangeville Banner", Apr. 17, 2013