“Our Niagara’s Greenbelt tender fruit and grape lands and other prime farm lands should not be “open for business” other than that of tender fruit and grape, cash crops and other farming, and farm-related uses.” – from Gracia Janes and Doug Woodard of the Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society
A Call-Out from the Niagara-based Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society (PALS)
Posted January 15th, 2019 on Niagara At Large
Gracia Janes, a Niagara resident and veteran citizen activist, has joined with her group, the Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society (PALS) in calling on Niagara’s municipal politicians to oppose the Ontario Ford government’s Bill 66.
As the oldest farmland preservation group in Canada, and credited in the Provincial Legislature for being the impetus behind the establishment of the Greenbelt land use protections, the Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society (PALS) strongly opposes Bill 66 the Open For Business Act.
This week, as the January 20th deadline for comment on the proposed Legislation closed in , PALS is sending letters to the Regional Council and all 12 lower-tier municipalities, asking them to let the Government of Ontario know that our Niagara’s Greenbelt tender fruit and grape lands and other prime farm lands should not be “open for business” other than that of tender fruit and grape , cash crops and other farming, and farm-related uses.
PALS also urges Niagara’s 12 lower- tier municipalities to officially go on record, that they will not use these re-zoning powers should Bill #66 be approved.
According to PALS Board member Gracia Janes, “ We know that Bill 66 refers to commercial development , but this will bring with it sewer, water, and road extensions, which in turn use good farmland and put pressure on nearby farmlands and farming.
“Additionally, developers, emboldened by the proposed “Open for Business “ planning powers, which by-pass Regional planning policies and processes, are bound to press for urban expansions into the unique and threatened tender fruit and grape lands. This is particularly important as Niagara Region develops its new Official Plan.”
PALS President Doug Woodard adds, “If lower-tier municipalities take advantage of Bill 66 , and side-step good planning, by shutting out public input and ignoring important Regional planning and other protective Legislation such as the clean Water Act, Great Lakes Protection Act, Greenbelt Act, Places to Grow Act and, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act , they will put at severe risk fruit lands, other prime farmlands, water resources, environmentally sensitive areas and air quality in Niagara and Ontario , which we all, urban or rural , rely on . ”
PALS sent the attached letter to the Regional Niagara Chair and Councillors, ahead of Thursday’s Regional Council meeting, and is sending a similar letter to all local municipal Councils.
What follows is the full text of the letter the Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society has sent to Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley and all members of the Region’s Council –
The Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society (PALS)
The Oldest Farmland Preservation Group in Canada Supporting Farmers & Working to Protect the Best Farmlands in Canada Since 1976
January 15, 2019
Dear Regional Chair Bradley and Council
Niagara Region’s new Chair, Jim Bradley, has had a long history as a St. Catharines MPP, working with late Niagara MPPs Mel Swart and Peter Kormos in fighting for the protection of the region’s farmlands and other green spaces.
As the oldest farmland preservation group in Canada, and credited in the Provincial Legislature for being the impetus behind the establishment of the Greenbelt land use protections, the Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society (PALS) firmly opposes the Ministry of Municipal Affairs’ proposed Bill 66 “ Open For Business Act .
Therefore, we call upon the Regional Municipality of Niagara to let the Government of Ontario know that our Niagara’s Greenbelt tender fruit and grape lands and other prime farm lands should not be “ open for business” other than that of tender fruit and grape , cash crops and other farming and farm-related uses.
While PALS knows that Bill 66 refers to commercial development, history tells us that this will bring with it sewer, water, and road extensions, which in turn use good farmland and put pressure on nearby farmlands and farming.
Additionally, developers, emboldened by the proposed “Open for Business “ local municipal council zoning powers, which under Bill 66 can by-pass Regional planning policies and processes, are bound to press for urban expansions into the unique and threatened tender fruit and grape lands . This is particularly important as the Region moves further along in the development of its new Official Plan.
We would add, that If lower-tier municipalities take advantage of Bill 66, and side-step good planning, by shutting out public input and ignoring important Regional planning and other protective Provincial Legislation such as the Clean Water Act, Great Lakes Protection Act, Greenbelt Act, and Places to Grow Act, they will put at risk fruit lands, prime farmlands, water resources, environmentally sensitive areas and air quality in Niagara , which we all, urban or rural, rely on .
Therefore, PALS will also urge Niagara’s 12 lower- tier municipalities to go on record, that they will not use these re-zoning powers during their terms of office should Bill 66 be approved
– Douglas Woodard, PALS’ President
About PALS – The extraordinary rate of urban sprawl over the best lands in Canada, the fruit lands of Niagara, led in 1976 to the formation of the Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society (PALS). Backed by over 500 urban and rural members, PALS Board members and volunteers have worked hard to preserve the unique fruit lands and the agricultural industry in Niagara and to promote food land preservation province and country-wide. PALS is based in Niagara, but has reached out over the years to help other farmland groups across Ontario and Canada to protect prime class 1-3 farmlands.
For more on the citizen’s advocacy work of the Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society, click on the organization’s site at – http://members.becon.org/~pals/index.html .
For a look at what then Conservative Leader and candidate Doug Ford said last year to a group of developers about his plans for Ontario’s Greenbelt, watch this video by clicking on the screen below
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Many individuals and groups are appalled by this Omnibus Bill, and no matter what Niagara’s Sam Oosterhoff sates about it being a miseeading of the Bill, it is not. Red tape means cutting out oversight into our wetlands, our agricultural areas, and even our urban planers who must adhere to the Ont. Heritage Act, in not demolishing heritage structures. The last time the PC’s put the red tape commission at work, with Niagara’s MPP Franks Sheehan in charge, the result was the death of 7 people in Walkerton and many others made deeply ill. Currently, the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario is fighting this bill as hard as they can. Please google the ACO and see where they stand. One St. Catharines city councilors is putting a motion to try to stop this Bill before council. Will we all be bulldozed by this Ont. Government? And our green spaces?.
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