‘Wrong plan for our community:’ Group reacts to Wilmot land update
Posted May 15, 2025 10:55:08 AM.
Last Updated May 15, 2025 11:21:00 AM.
A local group is pushing back and continuing to voice its disappointment after the Region of Waterloo provided an update on the Wilmot land assembly.
The region announced on May 14 it had purchased over 70 per cent of the total 770 acres it’s been pushing for, now in possession of 550 acres of land.
“This is good news, this is an investment in our future,” said Regional Chair with the Region of Waterloo, Karen Redman. “This is getting ready to be a million people and having the kind of investment that will retain talent and create jobs for the future.”
The Wilmot Civic Action Network (Wilmot CAN) released a statement to 570 NewsRadio in response, calling it a “massive waste of precious taxpayer dollars.”
“We agree that it’s important to have well-paying local jobs. Do we need it at the expense of irreplaceable farmland? Because it seems that food sovereignty is also imperative,” Kevin Thomason, spokesperson with Wilmot CAN and Vice Chair of the Grand River Environmental Network, said.
The statement went into the slew of issues that it and members of the local community have with the Wilmot land assembly. Those issues are primarily focused on what it calls the general lack of transparency from the region, the missing plans for any potential buyers or company intentions, the destruction of local farmland and more.
“The whole project has been mired in secrecy without a single public meeting, numerous ongoing investigations, and refusals to answer every Freedom of Information request,” said Thomason in the statement. “We ask that people speak up for a better future.”
While Redman mentioned that one of the main pushes for the Wilmot land assembly was the need for shovel-ready lands in the region, saying the municipality had previously missed out on upwards of $10 billion in potential economic investments, including possibly 5,000 jobs alongside it. Redman also mentioned the growing need due to economic uncertainty from imposed U.S. tariffs.
Thomason said in the statement, though, that there isn’t any lasting proof that automotive, manufacturing, or production plants are actively ready to come into the region.
“May we remind everyone that this week, Honda paused the plant in Alliston because the demand isn’t there for electric vehicles. CAMI in Ingersoll has laid off workers and closed until at least the autumn. The trade war with the U.S. has many companies using a wait-and-see approach, and few are looking to expand in this time of uncertainty.”
The statement continued to point to the potential lasting damage to the farmlands as developments continue to ramp up in preparation. Previous soil experts have said the tilling of the land the region had acquired earlier has caused lasting damage and even soil erosion into the local river system.
“They’ve mismanaged the only farm that they have acquired by destroying the corn crop, then leaving the soil exposed with no cover crop or protection,” Thomason mentioned in the statement. “That’s caused severe erosion that contaminates the Nith tributary and eventually the Grand River.”
Thomason said the best course of action is to simply cancel the developments and give the lands back to the farmers. He said the farmland is too valuable and vital for the future of the region, calling it “the wrong plan for our community.”
Looking ahead, a delegation is set to be brought forward to regional council on Wednesday, May 21, with early details showing the discussions will focus on the Wilmot land assembly and Honda Canada postponing its $15 billion electric vehicle project.
