‘Specialty Crop Lands in Niagara are unique, irreplaceable and finite. … Yet they have been experiencing a steady loss due to urbanization over several decades, with not quite one third of the original 35,000 acres of tender fruit land and one half of its original 35,000 acre of Grape land remaining .’
A News Release from the Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society, a non-profit citizens group working since 1976 to protect Niagara fruit lands
Posted February 4th, 2024 on Niagara At Large
Niagara, Ontario – The Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society (PAL) has challenged the Honourable Paul Calandra, (Ontario’s) Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Honourable Lisa M Thompson, (Ontario’s) Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, to act immediately to protect Niagara’s very limited, at risk Greenbelt grape and tender fruit lands, as promised by Premier Ford last September in a Greenbelt announcement in Niagara Falls.
Specifically, on January 22, 2024, PALS officially requested that the Minister of Municipal Affairs use his express powers under the Planning Act to advise the Ontario Land Tribunal that a matter of provincial interest is, or is likely to be, affected in relation to an upcoming hearing on the City of St. Catharines and Niagara Regional Council approvals of Official Plan Amendments to allow a major expansion of a non-agricultural use on Specialty Crop Lands.
These council decisions were made despite the strong recommendations of the City and Regional planners who advised that in their professional opinions, such approvals would be directly contrary to the Greenbelt Plan as well as both City and Regional Official Plans, all of which aim to permanently and prospectively protect specialty crop lands.
In our letter to the Ministers, PALS noted that “Specialty Crop Lands in Niagara are unique, irreplaceable and finite, comprising less than.004% of Canada’s best farmland.
Yet they have been experiencing a steady loss due to urbanization over several decades, with not quite one third of the original 35,000 acres of tender fruit land and one half of its original 35,000 acre of Grape land remaining .
It is for this reason that Schedule 2 of the Greenbelt Plan specifically identifies and designates Specialty Crop Areas – Niagara Peninsula Tender Fruit and Grape Area, and sets out the highest level of policy protection of any land in the Greenbelt and indeed the entire province.”
We have not heard from the Ministers yet, but as an “appellant Party” to this OLT hearing PALS’ Lawyer, Lisa Triano, through our letter, asked the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to intervene, not just to protect the current farm area at risk, but to prevent a precedent being set for other applications just waiting to add to the urban sprawl and further loss of irreplaceable specialty crop lands to non agricultural uses.
ABOUT US. The Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society (PALS) was formed in 1976. PALS is based in Niagara-on-the Lake and has worked diligently over the years to help farmland groups across Ontario and Canada to protect tender fruit, grape and prime class 1-3 farmlands.
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