News clips: AWARE Simcoe’s vision meeting in Bradford
AWARE Simcoe’s alternate vision for Simcoe County
By Miriam King Bradford Times March 28, 2013
Are residents of Simcoe County too enamoured of growth – too easily persuaded that growth and development are necessary for economic prosperity?
AWARE Simcoe, a local environmental awareness action group, believes so – and has released its own “Vision for Simcoe County,” as a response to the Province’s Growth Plan for Simcoe Region.
On March 23, the group held a public meeting at St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Bradford, to present some of the alternatives to growth, and host a panel discussion of the challenges facing the area.
Among the speakers was Carl Cosack of the NDAC (North Dufferin Agricultural & Community) Task Force, established to fight the 2300 acre mega-quarry proposal of The Highland Companies, in Melancthon Township.
The mega-quarry has been stopped, the proponents have abandoned their bid – but Cosack’s new focus is a province-wide awareness campaign, Food & Water First, that seeks to place protection of agricultural land and clean drinking water ahead of development interests.
After all, as all speakers noted, agriculture is the key to Ontario’s economic prosperity.
Speaker Bernard Pope, of Ontario Farmland Preservation, said, “politicians and planners need to understand… the impact of the decisions that cost farmland. Agriculture is the #1 value-added sector in the province. Agriculture has a commanding financial footprint in the province.”
Pope called for long-term policies that would ensure the security of agriculture in Ontario’s future.
“The farmer always sells the farm, eventually,” he acknowledged – but development pressures mean that all too often, the death of the farmer leads to “the death of the soil,” and the loss of prime agricultural land for housing.
Pope called for more education of rural/urban Ontarians on the importance of a “symbiotic relationship with food production” – support for local farms and farmers’ markets, greater emphasis on gleaning, and on urban production, support for agricultural easements and trusts to preserve land in agriculture, and a focus on agricultural tourism, “to entertain and educate a broad sector of the public.”
And, he said, there needs to be a greater emphasis on Net Benefit Studies – what will a proposed development bring to the table, compared to what is lost – and greater public involvement.
AWARE Simcoe’s motto is “Elect to Protect,” encouraging citizens to look at the environmental records of local politicians, and speak with their votes. Pope also called for greater public involvement in the planning process, to offset the amendments pushed by “lobbyists, speculators and developers” that have “weakened” the province’s Places to Grow policies.
“The loss of a farmer is the loss of character, experience and knowledge of the production of food… The loss of farmland is forever,” he said.
Bill French, mayoral candidate in Collingwood (AWARE Simcoe note: former mayoral candidate in Springwater) and (former) TV host on Rogers Television, urged environmental groups to “win the hearts and minds of people” – and put pressure on municipal politicians. Asked how residents can have an impact on decisions at the Ontario Municipal Board, when development issues come up, he suggested that winning the support of the local municipal government is key. “If you can get the municipality on side, the odds are it’s going to end up in your favour.”
But Cosack suggested that by the time an issue ends up at the OMB, it may be too late. “You end up in front of the OMB because there’s issues about planning,” Cosack said. “Get engaged with your Official Plan today,” he urged, to ensure that it contains protection for agriculture and the environment.
The Highland Companies chose Melancthon Twp. for a mega-quarry because “it had the smallest population… with the least amount of regulation and governance for resource extraction.” The company, he said, did its research – and now Melancthon is changing its Official Plan.
“Change is happening everywhere. It just has to be change in the right way.”
Agricultural prosperity key to county future: group
Residents meet to discuss sustainable growth
by Brea Bartholet Bradford West Gwillimbury Topic March 28 2013
An environmental watchdog group has a vision for Simcoe County’, including agricultural prosperity, local employment improvements and a healthy environment.
And the group wants business, political and residential support to ensure a sustainable future through Simcoe County.
The AWARE Simcoe group shared its vision for a sustainable future March 23 at St. John’s Presbyterian Church where residents were able to learn more about projected development, population growth and planning within the county, Barrie and Orillia and how AWARE aims to alter the planning process.
As stated by the draft of the group’s vision, planning and development changes do not evaluate if growth will be beneficial or harmful county residents. The draft outlines all seven of the goals, which include: a healthy environment, agricultural prosperity, development that is a net benefit to the community, bringing employment home, reliable sustainable energy, awareness of the need for sustainability and healthy lifestyles.
The main purpose of the vision is to implement a series of steps, aimed at achieving the goals and objectives and that they should be discussed and agreed upon by the community itself.
Guest speaker Carl Cosack, chairperson of North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Task Force (NDACT), began his presentation by giving an overview of the Food and Water First initiative in relation to an ongoing battle of a Mega Quarry in Melancthon Township just west of Bradford.
In 2006, the Highland Companies purchased 8,000 acres of farmland in the township, claiming it wished to be the largest potato producer in Ontario.
“In 2011, we found out quite differently. The company sent in 3,100 pages to the Ministry of Natural Resources to initiate one of the largest quarries in Canada — the Mega Quarry,” said Mr. Cosack.
In Sept. 2011, the province ordered an environmental assessment for the application, halting further changes. In October of that same year, an event known as “Foodstock” was held by farm owners who did not sell land to Highlands. About 28,000 people attended, capping it as one of the biggest protests ever held in Ontario. Letters from within the community also began pouring in and, by November 2012, the application had been withdrawn.
Mr. Cosack congratulated AWARE Simcoe for its individual efforts within the county, as “solving things within their reach.” He also extended his discussion into the importance of making sure the surrounding communities are aware of how critical agriculture is to Ontario.
“We need to keep highlighting what matters most. We will have leverage by being together on some of these issues, but what we ask to government has to be simple,” he said.
For the draft to become more recognized, AWARE Simcoe, along with organizations such as NDACT, are asking for businesses to show their support and become involved in the process by giving feedback and input on the matter.
Both groups will also aim to involve local politicians throughout the process to gain support and understanding of why the vision is so important to Simcoe County and surrounding areas.
AWARE Simcoe looks to implement its new vision for Simcoe County
In recent years Simcoe County has expanded at an expediential rate, with substantial economic and population growth. Many of the 16 municipalities within Simcoe County have become commuter towns, an area where people sleep before heading off to work in different cities. Approximately 90% of the County’s residents leave the area to go to work. Urban sprawl has taken over the majority of York Region, and AWARE Simcoe was developed to prevent urban sprawl from taking over Simcoe County. Every municipality has a vision for the county, and works hard to create it. AWARE Simcoe was created by the people, to monitor county and municipal governments for openness and accountability. Similar to the local governments it monitors, AWARE Simcoe also has a vision for the County. AWARE strives to provide Simcoe County with a healthy environment, agricultural prosperity, development that is a net benefit to the community, bringing employment home, reliable sustainable energy, awareness of the need for sustainability, and healthy lifestyles. AWARE Simcoe has highlighted two steps to achieving its goals. Local governments need to develop and explore new economic strategies, and realize the consequences of population growth are the two steps that need to be completed for AWARE Simcoe to achieve its goals. AWARE puts a strong emphasis on protecting the water, and environment of the area. Three area of concern are renewable resources, non-renewable resources, and waste management.
The majority of Simcoe County relies on groundwater for its main source of water. As the population grows, the amount of groundwater removed from the earth increases, and eventually it will be depleted. With the development of Simcoe County, a lot of the County’s land is being altered for specific uses. Asphalt and concrete reduces the replenishment of groundwater, and increases the chance of contamination. Development and growth is key to the County’s future, but AWARE Simcoe focuses on the proper type of development. AWARE stands up against proposed development on the County’s farmland. Southern Ontario’s land seemed to be endless at one point, but at a closer look it’s quite the opposite. In thirty years from 1971-2001, Ontario lost 14, 000 square kilometers of farmland and an additional 157,000 acres between 2006-2011. Ontario has some of Canada’s most fertile land. Approximately 80% of the country’s prime farmland (classifications 1-4) is located within Southern Ontario. The use of land has become a major issue at all government levels, and AWARE is fighting to protect Simcoe County’s farmland.
AWARE is working to make Simcoe County a zero waste municipality, replacing the word waste with resource. In 40 years Canada has experienced growth throughout the entire country. The country’s growth has been vital to its future, and where it stands today. With all the growth and expansion, Canada’s environment has been damaged. From 1961 to 2003, the average Canadian’s footprint grew from 4.6 to 7.6 global hectares per person. The average Canadian’s footprint is 4.3 times greater than the bio capacity (the ability of an area to provide resources, and absorb waste) the earth can provide for each person. AWARE has focused on reducing the amount of waste Simcoe County creates each year, and aims to replenish the environment to the best of its ability. AWARE Simcoe realizes that the physical, and social economic concepts are constantly changing, and it focuses on ensuring that they don’t have a negative impact on Simcoe County’s environment.
We’re using up farmland at rapid rate
At Saturday’s AWARE meeting in Bradford, Carl Cosack of the North Dufferin Agricultural Task Force said, “We’re using up land, land, land, in a way that is not recoverable and we will pay a price. We’re living way beyond our means… this (farmland) is fundamental to life itself.”
His comments dovetail with AWARE Simcoe’s Vision for Simcoe County that calls for evaluating growth to determine if the results of projected growth will be positive or negative or whether it is sustainable in the long run.
In other words, will we have enough food and water to take care of the projected population?
Kudos to the province for its new local food efforts, but food requires farmland. Despite supposed provincial regulations, we are using up farmland at an alarming rate.
Most of Bradford, for example, is built on arable farmland. It comes down to this: How much water can we take out of Lake Simcoe? How much processed sewage can we dump into a lake that turns over at an incredibly slow rate?
How many acres do we need to feed our growing population? At one time, it seemed water and farmland were endless, but we know now that it isn’t. Unending growth is not sustainable in the long run.
Most lost civilizations died out because they outgrew their resources.
I think it is best summed up in a proverb that has been attributed to various First Nations people, including the Cree: When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realize that one cannot eat money.
Meade Helman
Bond Head
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