A landmark meeting in Toronto

From Land over Landings

On January 26, leaders of the food security, farmland preservation, and environmental movements in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area answered the call to discuss the future of the Federal Lands.

David Crombie, author of the recently released report to the Province, Planning for Health, Prosperity and Growth in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2015-2041, and Wayne Roberts, recognized father of the Toronto food movement, brought decades of experience to the table. They were joined by leaders of FarmStart, Food Forward, and Sustain Ontario, and representatives of the City of Toronto, Toronto Green Communities, Toronto Youth Food Policy Council, Environmental Defence, Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance, Abundance GTA, First Story Toronto, and the universities of Guelph, Ryerson, and York.

And that future? Not an airport, we all agreed. Instead, it was clear to everyone that the Lands present a golden opportunity to the Golden Horseshoe, a chance to restore vitality and jobs to an economically depressed area, a chance to plan and develop a nearby food source for Canada’s most heavily populated urban centre.

If half the federally expropriated lands can be called Toronto’s backyard – and they can, now that they’re in, or committed to, the Rouge National Urban Park – we can be Toronto’s garden! These remaining 9,000 acres of foodland, watersheds, and natural habitat can work in tandem with the Park, incorporating farming, food processing, tourism, and a multitude of agri-food spinoffs – a regional food hub, giving an enormous economic boost to the entire area.

As we talked, ideas germinated, enthusiasm grew, roots and branches extended in every direction. An inspiring meeting of the minds and a solid step towards a shared goal.