‘Surprised’ and ‘confused’: Regional chair responds to Ford government slamming Wilmot Land Assembly

“I didn’t see this coming.”

That from Regional Chair Karen Redman, reacting to a joint release sent out by the Ford government, saying the Region of Waterloo has had a lack of transparency in the land assembly process in Wilmot Township.

The release, co-signed by Kitchener-Conestoga Member of Provincial Parliament Mike Harris Jr., reads, “It is disappointing to see recent events unfold in Wilmot and the Region of Waterloo, particularly the threat of expropriation at the onset of this process.”

Chair Redman said the province has been involved in the land assembly process from the beginning, both in funds, and in assembling the land.

“I was surprised, and I am confused,” she said. “I am confused because from the very beginning of this land assembly process, we have been lockstep with the province. So I didn’t see this coming and I guess I would also say, I’m pleased the province is now lifting the confidentiality obligations and I hope this will now allow greater transparency as we move forward with our land assembly partnership.”

Redman said talks with landowners are ongoing and “productive.”

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As far as the claims that the threat of expropriation has been “disappointing,” Redman notes, the option of expropriation was a requirement put in place, by the province.

“We have been transparent with landowners who said ‘if I don’t want to sell, would expropriation be an option?’ Expropriation is one of the tools that is in the kit, when we made an agreement with the province. We have never said we want to expropriate, we want fair and equitable negotiated settlements with all the landowners, but when people ask, is that a possibility, we had to say yes, it is, but it is not our preferred option.”

Redman adds, the tight deadlines, and lack of transparency, fall on the shoulders of the province too.

“We asked for more flexibility and timelines and due diligence for the landowners so we could close deals that they wanted, and were denied. From the start we requested the ability to share more information with the community and were also denied that.”

Following the release of the joint statement from the province Thursday, Redman said she has reached out to both MPP Harris and Minister Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli on the sudden statement, and is waiting for a response.