Ontario Farmers Pressure Government to Protect Farmland From ...
Premier Doug Ford’s government is considering changes to proposals which would expand the ability for housing to be built on Ontario’s dwindling farmland, due to pressure from farmers, according to CBC News. The proposed guidelines, formulated by Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark, would create more homes in urban and rural areas as part of a larger overhaul. The most contentious change would allow the owners of agricultural land to create up to three housing lots on each farm parcel, known as severance. Organizations representing beef, chicken, dairy, egg, pork, sheep, turkey, and veal producers all took a rare unified stance to condemn the policy.
People in the agriculture sector worry about the potential market value increase for farmland, which could prompt farmers to sell off housing lots at a profit, leaving less land for farming. Due to the policy’s ambiguity, there’s no way to ensure such homes will remain with farming families. The proliferation of homes in agricultural areas could also put a strain on farm ecology, via the addition of new wells and septic systems.
Clark says he doesn’t want the policy to benefit non-family or farm owners and will clarify concerns regarding this issue. He also plans to extend the consultation period, set to end next week, until early August, allowing more time for feedback on the proposals. The Ford government aims to build 1.5 million new homes in Ontario by 2032, and there is concern the policy may contribute to deforestation, misusage of land and uncontrolled sprawl.
Zac Cohoon, who owns a farm in Durham Region, says the plan is poorly conceived. He thinks the government can find a way to accommodate both the necessity for families to have a place to live with the need to protect farms.
Mike Crawley, CBC News reporter covering Ontario politics, notes that the severance issue has arisen previously. In 2019, the city of Ottawa agreed to prohibit severance in the city’s agricultural zone. Crawley interviewed Manitoulin Island farmer Matt Bowman who defended his decision to sell farmland for housing development, saying it was the only way for his family to get ahead. Bowman’s father, Merv, said severance is a chronic issue in Ontario that will only solve housing requirements in the short term but leave less land available for farming.
Credit: cbc.ca
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