Plans to clear-cut woodland for Breslau meat plant criticized by advocates

The expansion of a meats processing plant in Breslau sparked a conversation about the value of trees at regional headquarters on Wednesday.

Conestoga Meats is a significant employer in Waterloo Region. It’s a farmer-owned business in Breslau that’s been operating since the 1950s, employing more than 1,500 people today.

The facility is reaching the end of its life, and the farmers are planning for the next 50 years of operation through an expansion.

However, that expansion would be made possible through the clear-cutting of more than 35 acres of significant forest and bush.

Greg Lynch of Conestoga Meats presented their woodlot application to the Region of Waterloo Licensing and Hearings Committee on Wednesday, detailing their plans to clear out a portion of the woodlot on the land they own to make way for the expansion.

Inga Rinne, the president of Trees for Woolwich, has spent the last 20 years working on tree-planting and deforestation projects. She says this forest isn’t just any forest, adding that it’s regionally designated as “significant woodland.”

“This is not some ragtag, degraded conifer plantation that’s nearing the end of its life,” said Rinne. “This is the best that the region has to offer.”

According to Rinne, the forest is home to hundreds of different plant species and more than 50 species of birds.

The farmer-owned business recognizes the importance of the forest, and have offered a number of re-planting solutions that would replace any trees that are cut down.

“To stay competitive, investment and change are essential and required, but respectfully, sustainably, and community-minded in orientation,” Ian McLean, president and CEO of the Greater KW Chamber of Commerce, said about the proposed expansion.

He noted that agriculture and food processing are the number one employers in Waterloo Region, and voiced his support for the expansion.

“We’re already short of tree canopy, we’re already short of deep interior forest habitat,” said Kevin Thomason, vice-chair of the Grand River Environmental Network about the potential clear-cutting. “In an era of global climate change, we shouldn’t be cutting down trees anywhere.”

Thomason also recognized and commended the farmers at Conestoga Meats, who are also being creative and flexible to find solutions to the issue that would in-part maintain the forest.

The Region of Waterloo Licensing and Hearings Committee decided that more discussion needs to happen to come to a decision, and the delegates will present to Regional Council at a regular meeting on Sept. 25.