Show Notes
Alfred Lowrick of Fight For Farmland tells us about the “Land Assembly” proposed by Waterloo Region, the provincial government’s involvement, and what farmers and other citizens are doing about it.
The interview starts at 8m16s.
We also hear some of the speeches given at the Fight For Farmland protest rally held Monday 26 August 2024.
Fight For Farmland Online:
- Website: https://www.fightforfarmland.com/
- E-mail: wilmotlandowners@gmail.com
Upcoming Events
-
Wilmot Township Council meeting
- When: Monday 9 September 2024
- Where: Wilmot Township Council offices
- Location: 60 Snyder’s Road West, Baden Map
- Website: http://calendar.wilmot.ca/council/Detail/2024-09-09-1900-Council-Meeting
Podcast
Download: ckms-community-connections-2024-09-02-episode166-Alfred-Lowrick-of-Fight-For-Farmland.mp3 (53 MB, 58m01s, episode 166)
Index
| Time | Title | Album | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0m00s | Theme for CKMS Community Connections ccc |  CKMS Community Connections |
Steve Todd |
| 0m54s | 770 Acres |  (YouTube) |
Punkeydoodles Steve Todd |
| 4m08s | The Sign on the 7/8 |  (YouTube) |
|
| 8m16s | Alfred Lowrick tells us about the issues with the Wilmot land assembly: No consultation with the community; the planning for the environmental impact has not been done; the farmers don’t want to sell their land. Personally, Alfred is concerned that the Regional plan is not being followed, that the Countryside Line is not being observed, that employment lands are supposed to be on the east side of the Region. There was a one page letter that said “We want to buy your land, and we’ll come back and make you an offer.” It was a lowball offer, and if there was no agreement within ten days then expropriation would be an option. Alfred organized meetings between the farmers and the CAO and planning director of Wilmot Township, but they couldn’t talk about it because of a confidentiality agreement with the Region. This was followed by a delegation to Wilmot Township Council, but Alfred was limited to three minutes. Now, six months later they know a bit more, but not much. | ||
| 16m50s | Alfred has 70 questions for Regional Council, but his Freedom of Information requests have all been denied. There have been numerous town hall meetings organized by Fight For Farmland. And on Wednesday 28 August 2024 there was a protest rally outside the Regional headquarters with 40 tractors. There were numerous speakers, and support from the opposition in the Provincial government. There was a statement from the Provincial government stating they were funding this land assembly, but the “ground game” was at the Region of Waterloo office. | ||
| 19m13s | The Provincial government has changed the rules around municipal planning: Bill 185 (“Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act”) and Bill 162 (“Get It Done Act”). Both make it easier for expropriation, making it easier for the Province to establish guidelines for planning. Some of this is driven by Federal policy, such as increased immigration which requires more housing, but it leaves the municipalities without much of a say in the planning process. Fight For Farmland has asked Wilmot Township councillors to declare themselves “unwilling hosts”, but Alfred thinks they won’t be able to do much, leaving it to the Regional government to decide who is an unwilling host or not. Fight For Farmland continues to work on it, they have some say at the municipal level, but once they get to the provincial level it’s more difficult. | ||
| 21m23s | A number of people presented at the Wilmot Township Council meeting on Monday 26 August 2024, but not exactly for what Fight For Farmland is asking Council to do. People from Fight For Farmland haven’t been able to delegate directly to Council, they’re planning on doing that on Monday 9 September 2024. Letters have been sent to Council to ask them to declare Wilmot Township an unwilling host, but there’s more process to go through. At the Regional Council meeting on Wednesday the staff was threatening to disband the meeting because there were too many people standing. But some people from the Fight For Farmland steering team, including Mark Reusser of the Waterloo Federation of Agriculture spoke directly to Regional Council. The rally showed that there is something that Regional Council needs to address. But no motions were brought forward. | ||
| 24m22s | Based on the statement from the Province that it’s a Regional issue, Bob thinks the Region could put a stop to this. But Alfred has heard too many conflicting statements from different levels of government, and doesn’t know who to believe. Alfred and Fight For Farmland wants this land assembly stopped, a proper planning process to take place with consultation from the community. | ||
| 25m49s | Bob is worried about the lack of transparency coming from all levels of government. Alfred says this is why he doesn’t believe anyone. This is affecting the lives of everyone in Wilmot, everyone in Wateloo Region. We know this is supposed to be an industrial site, but not whether it’s a chemical plant or an electronics plant. Alfred worries about a chemical spill affecting ground water. Bob points out that industrial plants damaged the ground water in Elmira, where he lives. All the wells in Elmira are contaminated, and there are still plumes of chemicals drifting through the aquifers. There are environmentalists on the team that keep raising these issues. Bob and Alfred talk about environmentalism in farming | ||
| 33m20s | Next steps: The Wilmot Council meeting on 9 September. Any other rallies or protests? Alfred points out that they’re just volunteers, it is unfair that farmers with 24/7 jobs need to take on this extra work. There is some legal work that needs to be done, more Freedom of Information requests to be sent… There are other groups that want to join, communications that need to go out, a website that needs to be maintained… They’re waiting for the Region to come forward with a plan to address some of the concerns they have. Except for one, the farmers have not had further contact about acquiring their land. If it comes to expropriation, that’s the legal aspects they have to address. To keep in touch people can go to https://www.fightforfarmland.com/, join the mailing list, and sign the petition. Make sure to sign the hardcopy petitions at the rallies. And there are other petitions from opposition parties as well. And everyone should write their Regional councillors, and Wilmot Council. All their contact information is on the Fight For Farmland website. | ||
| 39m30s | Plow-Down Putdown |  (YouTube) |
Punkeydoodles Steve Todd |
| 43m31s | Speech by Mike Schreiner, Leader of the Green Party of Ontario. | ||
| 49m41s | Speech by Kevin Thomason, Environmentalist and co-organizer of Fight For Farmland. | ||
| 53m50s | Speech by Jenn Pfenning, President of the National Farmer’s Union. | ||
| 57m11s | Bob gives the end credits. | ||
Other speeches that weren’t in the show:
- Speech by Aislinn Clancy, Green Party MPP for Kitchener Centre.
- Speech by Stewart Snyder, Farmer.
- Speech by Mark Reusser, Director of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
- Bob Jonkman interviews Jenn Pfenning.
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs alternate Fridays from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.
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Bonus Video
Video: CKMS Community Connections for Monday 2 September 2024 (Radio Waterloo Video, 159 MB, 58m43s)
Show notes and podcast interview content is Copyright © 2024 by the participants, and released under a 
Creative Commons Attribution Only license. Copy, re-use, and derivative works are allowed with attribution to Radio Waterloo and a link to this page. Music selections are copyright by the respective rights holders. The theme music is written and performed by Steven Todd.