Keep those letters flowing to Queen’s Park! Food & Water First supporters in Midhurst asked both the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives to back our request for a 10-year moratorium on new rezoning applications impacting Class 1 farmland. This is the response they received from Interim PC leader, Jim Wilson:

Thank you for copying me on this email. I share the serious concern that the current government fails to understand the importance of preserving prime agriculture land and supporting Ontario’s rural jobs and communities. For example, there is the government approval of non-agricultural projects like industrial wind turbines on some of our best agricultural land. I am sharing your proposal with MPP Toby Barrett, the Ontario PC Critic for Agriculture, for debate and consideration among our caucus colleagues. Your input is very much appreciated.

We look forward to a response from the Liberal government, as well as details about its promised Farms Forever program.

Have you sent your letter yet? We’ve made it easy to do so. Food & Water First letter

Greenbelt: Under attack

Over the past few months, major publications have been featuring articles questioning the value of Ontario’s Greenbelt and anti-sprawl policies. In November, Maclean’s magazine published an editorial Protecting Canada’s farmland the right way which dismissed the Greenbelt and suggested housing prices are high because farmland is being preserved.  Now, the Globe and Mail is echoing this argument with its own article denouncing the Greenbelt: What’s so smart about unaffordable housing The column falsely states “There is no scarcity of agricultural land in Southern Ontario.”  A quick Google search would have produced this information: Ontario Farmland Trust.

The Greenbelt is facing a provincial review in 2015. It is no coincidence that it is being undermined and questioned by those interested in slicing into its 1.8 million acres of protected farmland, forests and waterways for development. There are more than 7,000 farms in the Greenbelt, contributing to Ontario’s $34-billion agri-food sector. Nearly one-half of the province’s fruit farms and one-fifth of its vegetable farms are found in the Greenbelt. Plus, this region is a vital carbon sink and touted as a Climate Change Weapon. For more information on preserving the Greenbelt, please visit the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance.