Wilmot councillors challenge region to provide full technical details on land assembly

Two Wilmot Township councillors are asking Region of Waterloo Council to be more transparent and release full technical details of the 770 acre land assembly process that is currently underway.

Since the start of April, the region has been looking to acquire prime farmland to prepare for it’s growth over the next 20 years, but it’s coming at the threat and expense of land appropriation if farmland owners do not sell.

Ward 2 Councillor Kris Wilkinson alongside Ward 3 Councillor Harvir Sidhu held a media conference on Wednesday morning at the parcel of land in question. They were also joined by Alfred Lowrick who is a member of the Fight for Farmland organization.

“Over the past few months, we’ve heard from our community loud and clear. Wilmot residents are angry. They are angry that farmers and landowners have not been treated fairly or treated with respect during this ongoing land acquisition. It honestly just comes down to respect, or lack thereof,” Sidhu said. “No one should be forced to live in such uncertain times.”

“We are concerned that our community citizens and farmers are treated fairly. This massive change could lead to an unravelling of the social fabric of Wilmot and along all of it’s inherit costs,” Lowrick said.

According to Sidhu, farmers were not given the opportunity to plan for the season due to the uncertainty around the region’s plans. This, he said, has impacted the “wider farming community.”

“They fear the rug could be pulled out from under them, too. I stand before you today, and I challenge the Region of Waterloo to release the technical details with full transparency and tell our residents why this site is being assembled,” Sidhu said.

Cllr. Wilkinson joined Cllr. Sidhu in calling on the region for more transparency. Wilkinson said Wilmot Council has been asking the Region of Waterloo to provide community engagement opportunities on this issue.

“We’ve tried to play by the rules but the process has not shown respect for Wilmot residents or the larger community as a whole,” Wilkinson said. “The farmers are hard working individuals who bring a lot to our small rural community and honestly, enough is enough. We have two asks: Release the technical details and come and talk to us.”

Cllr. Sidhu said all of the information about this land assembly has been provided to council in closed session under the Municipal Act.

“We are bound by the Municipal Act and we can’t disclose that information to the public. That has been stopping us from publicly speaking onto the details of such and that is why, for the most part, we’ve been fairly quiet on this issue,” he said.

Wilmot council is still trying to figure out why this parcel of land is the best site for land assembly.

“There’s been an ongoing narrative and discussion about why this land,” Sidhu said. “It’s been suggested that they just threw a dart at a dartboard and came up with this. There is a lot of land to choose from. This is why we are saying release the technical details and explain your reasoning as to why this would be the best site for land assembly.” It’s all about transparency and open dialogue. I firmly believe if this is the best site then we should have no issue releasing the reasoning why this should work best.”

Cllr. Wilkinson said both him and Cllr. Sidhu have felt strongly that this process has lacked fairness and respect for Wilmot citizens.

“Our hope that through this, we are able to help move the process along, get more technical details out there and get some respect for our farmers who are asking to be heard and asking for more information,” said Wilkinson.

Lowrick added the farmland is classified as “Class 1” which means it is the most productive and the most valuable. In his remarks, he emphasized the need for land like this as a key way to feed future generations, as farmland becomes more scarce in southern Ontario.

“Our region’s planning process is reviewed regularly with the Regional Official Plan (ROP) and it’s always been followed,” added Lowrick. “This involves significant investment and expert input and has provided a long-term direction about how the region would grow. This document has been set aside for some reason. It was a guarantee of what our country sideline was, what proper planning should take place, where this population growth should be and where economic employment lands should be,” he said.

Lowrick’s group and residents are concerned with the lack of transparency that has been shown throughout this process from regional and provincial elected officials on the land assembly issue. He said, the decisions are eroding the public trust in government.

The Fight for Farmland group is also raising significant concerns with drinking water availability and safety for not just Wilmot Township but all of Waterloo Region.

“The region’s water aquifer starting a mere 300-metres from the land’s eastern boundary, I think the entire regional community needs to be asking many questions about the water safety issue,” said Lowrick.

The Fight for Farmland group has filed 21 freedom of information requests as the group tries to learn more about the land assembly.

The Region of Waterloo issued a statement to CityNews 570 about Wednesday’s press conference.

“The Region of Waterloo’s land assembly effort is a generational project for the economic future of our region. Investment of this scale is essential as we grow to one-million people. Assembling shovel-ready land is about securing thousands of new jobs in our community and bringing billions of dollars of investment to our local economy. We are seeing this type of investment across the province and the positive impact it can make to the lives of residents. As this land assembly project continues, the Region is in continued conversation with landowners, which remains confidential and is common practice in professional real estate negotiations. We are committed to sharing more information as the project progresses.”