WHEREAS the Region of Waterloo is in the process of completing the purchase of a 160-acre farm in Wilmot Township (the Farm) as part of an industrial land strategy (the Land Assembly) and subject to the Region’s confidentiality obligations.
AND WHEREAS the Region of Waterloo recently plowed under the corn crop on the Farm, which was estimated to be 5 or 6 weeks away from harvest (the Event),
AND WHEREAS this Event appears to be in direct contradiction to the Region of Waterloo’s Strategic Plan 2023-2027 Growing with Care vision,
AND WHEREAS this Event appears to conflict with the goals in the Province’s Grow Ontario: a provincial agri-food strategy,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Region of Waterloo commits to ensuring, with respect to crops on any further farms purchased through the Land Assembly, that the first consideration will be assessing whether the crop can be harvested, and a suitable use found for the yield, and that the outcome of such assessment will be provided to Regional Council before any action is taken;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Regional Council receives a report within 4 weeks of this motion outlining what occurred including what actions were taken to mitigate the loss of crops with respect to the Event, and that this report be made public and subject to the Region’s confidentiality obligations.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, going forward, Regional Council will be provided with advance notice of any further work occurring on the lands purchased by the Region of Waterloo through this Land Assembly.