August 14 - Community Update
A Letter And A Direct Appeal To Our Wilmot Mayor, Natasha Salonen
This week Alfred Lowrick met with Wilmot Township Mayor Natasha Salonen to deliver a letter on behalf of the Fight for Farmland Group. The letter calls on Mayor Salonen to declare Wilmot Township an Unwilling Host until the next Regional Official Plan Review, revert back to our strongly approved Regional Official Plan with its focus on sustainability and farmland protection, and ensure proper planning as well as public consultation processes for any future mega-industrial site investigation. The letter also reminds Mayor Salonen of the promises she made during her election campaign.
Along with the letter, Alfred included a list of 20+ questions concerning the proposed developments, requested the release of studies supporting the proposed Wilmot mega-industrial site land acquisition and urged public meetings to explain the rationale of prime farmland for development – particularly when this 770-acre site is outside the Countryside Line, protected by the Region of Waterloo's Official Plan, and its development violates Section 24(1) of the Provincial Planning Act.
We are hopeful that Wilmot Township will finally listen to our unwilling farmers, our other unwilling landowners, and our very unwilling community and declare that Wilmot Township is an unwilling host at their next Council meeting on August 26th.
Press Release – Which Cabinet Minister Do You Believe?
Yesterday, the Fight for Farmland Group issued a press release bringing attention to the frustration caused by the lack of transparency and conflicting information regarding the funding of the 770-acre mega-industrial land assembly. Minister of Agriculture Rob Flack admitted that the province is funding the project, contradicting months of statements by Minister Mike Harris Jr., who claimed it was solely a local initiative by the Township of Wilmot and the Region of Waterloo. Despite widespread opposition and unanswered questions, including who is funding the project and why there is so much secrecy, the government continues to push forward. The community is left questioning which government Minister to believe, why the provincial government has been hiding behind unprecedented NDA’s and not even allowing a single public meeting.
Protest Rally at Upcoming Wilmot Township Council Meeting – Monday Aug 26th at 5:30pm
We’ve asked the Mayor to declare our community as Unwilling Hosts at the upcoming Township of Wilmot Council Meeting on Monday, August 26, at 5:30 PM at Castle Kilbride in Baden. It’s crucial that we show up in full force to demonstrate our united stance. The last Wilmot Council meeting had over 150 protestors and we hope to greatly exceed that number on August 26th. Bring your signs, friends, and family—let’s make this the biggest crowd yet and clearly show that we are unwilling!
Stay tuned to our updates for more details as the date approaches!
Tell Doug Ford Directly We Are Unwilling At FordFest This Friday, Aug 16th from 4pm to 6pm
Doug Ford is hosting his annual FordFest in Milton on Friday, August 16th.
Labour Unions (Ontario Federation of Labour, OPSEU, OSSTF, and others), environmental groups (Environmental Defence, Reform Gravel Mining Coalition, Grand River Environmental Network) and many local organizations have come together in a big way to plan to protest outside this event as the Premier and Cabinet Ministers arrive. It is a perfect opportunity for us to show that we are unwilling and we are planning lots of Fight For Farmland signage.
Details are as follows:
FordFest Protest, Outside Country Heritage Park
8560 Tremaine Road, Milton Ontario L9T 2X3
Parking will be available at Milton Baptist Church at 88 Tremaine Road and shuttle buses will be available.
There will also be buses provided from New Hamburg/Kitchener, Hamilton, York Region and other areas.
Please let us know if you think you might be able to attend at wilmotlandowners@gmail.com and please also sign-up on the Ontario Federation of Labour website to be kept updated on the latest information and organizing details:
https://ofl.ca/event/thankdougford-for-getting-it-done/
Hopefully you can join the fun to help send a strong message to the Premier that we are unwilling and that a far better location needs to be found for this industrial mega-site.
In the Media
Here is a list of the top recent stories on the Wilmot Land Assembly. We were able to get some national attention in The Narwhal—it’s a great read that highlights the stories of some of the farmers directly affected:
Stratford Today: Citizens Decry Secrecy on 770-Acre Industrial Land Assembly in Wilmot
The Record: Region of Waterloo Has Bungled the Land Assembly in Wilmot
CTV News: Two Wilmot Councillors Ask Region for Land Acquisition Details as Turf War Continues
Councillor Rob Deutschmann also spoke last week on a special edition of The Mike Farwell Show on 570 News about the Wilmot Land Assembly on behalf of the Region. Although he didn’t provide much information, it seemed that callers into the show were increasingly outraged at the lack of answers and the absurdity of such a massive industrial development in the middle of prime Wilmot farmland:
Please continue to speak up and show that we are unwilling!