MPP Harris says province helping fund Wilmot Land Assembly

Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Mike Harris Jr. confirmed Thursday, the province is helping to fund the Wilmot Land Assembly.

Last week, the Provincial Minister of Agriculture Robert Flack confirmed the provincial cash to 570 NewsRadio but could not say a final number.

While in Cambridge for a separate announcement, Flack said he is not aware of any specific industry or company lined up to use the farmland.

Then Thursday, just over a week after those comments were made, Harris, along with Minister Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Vic Fedeli, released a joint statement.

It pointed out the land assembly and work is in the Region of Waterloo’s hands, though the province is helping with the funds to purchase the land.

“Given the region’s lack of transparency in its land assembly process, we feel it necessary to clarify our government’s involvement in this project. While the province is supporting the Region of Waterloo with funding to help purchase land, it is the sole responsibility of the region to assemble the site and work collaboratively with all affected communities and stakeholders.”

Wilmot land saga

Councillors request report to seek answers on Wilmot corn crop destruction

Regional councillors have pushed forward a motion making sure no more crops are unnecessarily destroyed as the Wilmot Land Assembly continues and more farmland is sought to be purchased for future development. There…

Fight for Farmland in Wilmot could turn into legal battle: Spokesperson

Despite the Region of Waterloo’s announcement last week that it has successfully purchased almost one third of the 770 acres of land in Wilmot its been eyeing, those against the assembly aren’t backing…

Some councillors surprised by corn crop destruction in Wilmot: Coun. Deutschmann

Regional Coun. Rob Deutschmann spent about two hours on Aug. 8 answering questions from the community about the Wilmot land assembly issue while on The Mike Farwell Show. Deutschmann reiterated over…

Portion of 770 acres in Wilmot purchased by Region of Waterloo

The Region of Waterloo has purchased almost one-third of the 770 acres in Wilmot Township from landowners. On July 18 in a press release, the region said this is a “milestone” as it hopes to create…

Earlier this week, the group, Fight for Farmland also released a statement, as they alleged there have been contradictive statements from the province.

“This is in stark contrast to numerous statements made by Minister of Red Tape Reduction Mike Harris Jr. who has consistently claimed for months that this is a local Township of Wilmot and Region of Waterloo initiative with no provincial involvement.”

In his Thursday statement, Harris said the recent events in Wilmot and the threat of expropriation is “disappointing.”

The statement also points out, assembling shovel-ready sites is a “key factor in Ontario’s success in securing billions of dollars in new job-creating investments. While we wholeheartedly support municipalities in their efforts to attract these investments and create good-paying jobs, we want to underline that they must always be conducted in a fair and respectful manner. This is a principle we strongly uphold, and we urge the Region of Waterloo to do the same.”