Northeast of the intersection at Bleams Rd. and Nafziger Rd. in Wilmot Township, the Region of Waterloo bought one-third of the 770 acres of land set aside for future projects. Since the Region of Waterloo has denied 21 Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted by Fight for Farmland, Wilmot residents are still grasping for answers regarding this decision.
In March 2024, the landowners of the over 770 acres were approached by a representative from the private Mississauga-based company, Canacre. The landowners were informed that the Region of Waterloo wanted to buy their properties.
Fight for Farmland, the citizen lead organization opposing this project, aims to show Ford that Wilmot is not a willing host. The organization hosted a protest on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024 outside of the Region of Waterloo Council meeting.
“These lands were not supposed to be developed and [are] protected under the regional plan, and now, suddenly, that’s been changed without any discussion with the public, without any preparation for it. That’s huge on agriculture, that’s incredibly stressful on farmers and agriculture across the region,” Susanna Compton, a member of Fight for Farmland and a community member of Wilmot, said.
In April 2024, Premier Ford addressed the Wilmot land assembly efforts when he stopped by in Kitchener for an unrelated funding announcement. Ford also stated that the project “should not be foisted on an unwilling community and should be given to a willing host.”
Alfred Lowrick, president and spokesperson for Fight for Farmland, met with Wilmot Township Mayor Natasha Salonen on the week of Aug. 14. Lowrick delivered a letter on behalf of the group that calls on Salonen to declare the Wilmot Township as an “Unwilling Host” Until the next Regional Official Plan Review.
With the letter, Lowrick sent in a list of over 20 questions concerning the proposed developments and requested the release of studies supporting the proposed mega- industrial site land acquisition.
Farmers, landowners and citizens are concerned about land expropriation for environmental and agricultural reasons. Canada’s landmass has about six percent of suitable lave for farming, and four percent of the most fertile land is within in the Wilmot Township.
“One of the biggest ones is that the Waterloo moraine, which is like natural conservation of water, is about 300 meters or so away from where this proposed land assembly ends. And you know that water doesn’t really stop at a wall, right?” Compton said.
Ahead of a council meeting on Aug. 28, the Wilmot Township’s Fight for Farmland leads a tractor convoy through downtown Kitchener from Bleams Road in Wilmot. Around 40 tractors were escorted by police from Highway 7 then turned to Ottawa St. before continuing along Weber Street to the regional building on Frederick Street.
There were over 500 people around the Region of Waterloo headquarters in Kitchener with several more onlookers and supporters. This convoy along with the letter has Fight for Farmland and its supporter’s hopeful that Wilmot Township
and the Region of Waterloo will listen to the unwilling farmers and landowners. In a recent press release from Fight for Farmland, they stated there are further concerns by the provincial non-disclosure agreement (NDA) which has affectively silenced elected officials and staff.
After the convoy and protest, the Regional Council passed a motion on Aug. 29 to ensure no more crops will be destroyed without proper assessment, following 160 acres (about twice the area of a large shopping mall) of nearly-ready-to- harvest corn.
“I don’t know who okayed the demolition of 160 acres of corn, but they should be ashamed,” Lowrick said.
Advocates are concerned that there was no public meeting about the expropriation, which could be one of the largest and most expensive land developments in Waterloo Region’s history.
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