On July 22, 2024, the Region of Waterloo announced they will begin a detailed technical analysis on the proposed mega-industrial site in Wilmot.
Wilmot landowners and farmers feel they have been blindsided by the region due to the apparent lack of studies and proper planning prior to the planning date. The Region announced they acquired one-third of a 770-acre parcel meant for a new mega-industrial site with no promised customer yet.
“A development such as this will result in, not only the loss of 770 acres (about the area of Central Park in New York City) of prime farmland, but also the resultant sterilization of surrounding farmland. Investments by farmers in the vicinity will cease because of the resulting uncertainty regarding possible future expansion of the development,” Mark Reusser, the Vice-President of the Waterloo Federation of Agriculture, said.
Wilmot landowners published a press release on July 22, 2024. The Fight for Farmland group, two Wilmot Township councilors and multiple residents raised concerns about the adequacy of the information and technical data about this project to the Region of Waterloo council.
“Intentionally obliterating $160,000 of human food at a time when food prices are increasing and many people are food insecure is an abomination. There should be consequences for those that made this decision and they should be severe,” Reusser said.
Wilmot landowners state they feel blindsided by the potential sale. They report they did not receive official expropriation documents. Residents are worried about the precedence this acquisition is creating. On July 18, Waterloo Region reported securingone-third of Wilmot farmland property. There are many worries about the region’s seeming lack of public consultation regarding this issue.
“Speaking on behalf of the farmers and the immediate local community, the land acquisition has stressed the lives of those directly and indirectly involved. Residents still have no answers on what the overall plans the Region of Waterloo has for the property and what the impact will have on them as well as all the residents of Wilmot,” Alfred Lowrick, the spokesperson for the Fight for Farmland Group, said.
Regional Chair Karen Redman stated the council calculated the region has missed a $4.1 billion of investment because the region “does not have shovel ready land.” Redman says the Region does not have a specific buyer in mind for the land yet. Fight for Farmland and Wilmot Landowners are livid their land is being threatened when there does not seem to be an end goal for the Region yet.
Lowrick says the Region’s claim to have purchased one-third of the land is not accurate. He knows of three residential properties sold to the region for 167.3 acres (about twice the area of a large shopping mall).
“Farmers everywhere in this province, as well as everyone else should be concerned about this issue because we are currently losing 319 acres of farmland a day in this province. If this continues, we will have no farmland left to feed us by the middle of the century,” Reusser said.
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