One of my
key points during last Fall’s election campaign was Agriculture. As soon as I
was elected I requested to be the Simcoe County representative on the Simcoe
County Federation of Agriculture and I am also an alternate on the County
Agricultural Liaison Committee. Farming is the key economic driver in
Springwater and I want to do my part to see it prosper.
I attended
the Ontario Farmland Preservation’s Farmland Forum in Durham over a week ago, which
is an annual event that moves around the province. There was a general concern by
farmers about the loss of agricultural land to urban sprawl and the increasing
red tape with governments at all levels.
There was
much discussion and at times misunderstanding of the impact of the proposed
expanded Greenbelt that would freeze lands from any further encroachment by
urban sprawl. Some considered it positive while others were skeptical about its
effect.
Some
farmers expressed concern on how they will be able to cash in at the end of
their career and liquidate their farm assets for retirement. This is a real
issue as some next generation farm offspring are leaving the farm for careers
elsewhere.
In
California the American Farmland Trust has been able to connect Cap and Trade
of Greenhouse gases and using those funds have purchased easement rights in
perpetuity for agricultural land, removing it from the threat of urban sprawl
and forcing smarter growth in urban centres. Pennsylvania has a similar model
but uses funding from State and Municipal levels to secure easements in
perpetuity for farmland. In the last 25 years, Pennsylvania has secured 4,700
farms, 500,000 acres and invested $1.3B to protect farmland from urban sprawl.
In Ontario we have a volunteer program with Ontario Farmland Trust that works
with various agencies and NGO’s to secure and preserve both environmentally
sensitive and farmland throughout the province. Talking to both the MMAH and
OMAFRA representatives at the conference, Ontario government officials will be
visiting Pennsylvania this year and the Wynne government hopes to develop a
similar program to help retiring farmers and preserve this valuable resource.
I also travelled
to Ottawa for Ontario Farm Day on Tuesday last week and attended a reception
with a number of Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries to
MP’s and Senators. Simcoe County Federation of Agriculture representatives from
our area met with local MP’s Peter Van Loan, Patrick Brown, Bruce Stanton and Kellie
Leitch to echo their concerns. Ontario farmers in primary agriculture
contribute $13.7 billion in receipts, and $8.1 billion in wages. They spend $12
billion on farm inputs and generate $1.4 billion in provincial tax revenues.
More than 70% of Ontario Farm products remain in the province and combined with
the food and beverage processors add $21.3 billion to the Ontario economy. The
food processing sector employs 91,000 people. The farming community is asking
the Federal Government to assist smaller municipalities like Springwater with
investment in infrastructure such as natural gas and broadband services. If the
Federal Government can provide more funding to the local municipality then the
local tax rates can be reduced or at least controlled from escalating at a high
rate.
The OFA
continually lobby governments at all levels, but we must help their voice be
heard. Farmers now represent only about 1.5% of the population of Ontario and
less than 10% of the total rural population. They are concerned that urban
centres and at times, a lack of voice, are driving the growth that infringes on
good farming practices.
As we all
know in Springwater close to 90% of our non-farm workers leave the township
every day for employment. We need to protect that 100% population that works on
the farm and is the most vibrant part of our local economy.
Check out
the township website for my report to Council on the meeting Deputy Mayor Allen
and I had with Minister McMeekin, requesting that development control be put
back in the hands of the township rather than being dictated by outside
interests.
We had an
excellent turnout at the Public Meeting last week where a developer is asking
to increase the density of a development by 50%, which appears to be out of
character for the community of Elmvale. Your voice was both heard and noted. We
will work with the developer to hopefully achieve a compromise that is
acceptable to the area residents.
There was
an excellent meeting in Barrie hosted by the provincial government to gather
input on the coordinated review of a number of provincial growth and
environmental plans. A common theme was to protect both the environment and
agricultural land, irreplaceable resources.
Keep
informed and involved with Springwater by checking out our website www.springwwater.ca and the calendar of meetings. Also stay close to the action and read this
excellent local paper, the Springwater News and check out our regular
Springwater Link and Council Corner columns. Be part of the solution and have
your say. This Council does want to hear from you. You are seeing columns from
most of Council and they do want to engage you in our local government and keep
you informed. I am quite pleased at these efforts.
Contact me
at 705-728-4784 ext. 2040 or my cell at 705-718-7031 or email at bill.french@springwater.ca and follow me on twitter @MayorFrench
