MPP Fife calling for ‘value-for-money’ audit on Wilmot land assembly

Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife is calling for more answers about the money and decisions behind the Wilmot land assembly.

Fife, who is also the NDP critic for finance, along with her colleague NDP critic for Agriculture and Rural Affairs, John Vanthof have asked the Auditor General for a “value-for-money” audit on the land assembly.

The critics are asking for a full investigation into whether or not the Ford government’s role, has been “consistent with provincial plans, policies and laws, including the statutory responsibility to protect the province’s agricultural resources.”

She goes on to ask, “Please assess whether the government has adequately considered the economic impact of the loss of prime farmland and the jobs they support.”

The province has said it is helping fund the land assembly, which covers 770 acres of land between Nafziger Road, Bleams Road and Wilmot Centre Road.

“This is not the ‘Waterloo way’ and our community will not be bullied,” she said in a release. “It’s about time Ford gave the farmers of Wilmot some real answers.”

The land assembly has been touted as a means of preparing land for future development to bring more jobs and business to the region.

Local advocates, including the Fight for Farmland group have been consistently speaking out about the project, saying the community is “not a willing host” for future development.