Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Group challenges highway expansion report

Sunday, March 27, 2011

by PAT CURRIE

The Township of Perth East took a neutral stand when it polished its list of concerns over expansion plans for the Highway 7/8 link between Kitchener-Waterloo and Stratford, and sent it off to the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario this week.

Not so the Agricultural Business Community (ABC) of Perth East, Perth South and Wilmot West. On Friday — a deadline set by the ministry — ABC submitted its own revised rap sheet of shortcomings in the latest consultants’ report. ABC, at one point, characterized the ministry’s report as a million-dollar exercise "in telling farmers what they already know."

The group conceded that the latest report by AECOM was an improvement over one it had savaged in February as having "serious flaws," "flagrant biases against the agricultural community," "neglect of critical items," and being "based on . . . flimsy arguments." But they say they still found serious shortcomings in how the report addressed the issues of exactly how much farmland will be taken permanently out of production and how the road project will impact drainage, now a major farm concern.

The original ministry estimate that 500 acres of farmland will be lost has grown by some "sleight of hand" process over three years to something larger but still indefinite, the ABC report said. If expansion is needed on a railway line parallel to the new roadway, more may be taken from farmers who have already lost a strip of land taken by the province 30 years ago for a widening of Highway 7/8 that never happened, ABC noted.

"We don’t think they (ministry officials) are telling us the truth," ABC spokeswoman Sharon Weitzel said in an interview. The group says 22 businesses and 186 parcels of land totaling more than 12,000 acres will be impacted by building a new five-lane highway south of present Highway 7/8 from east of the hamlet of Shakespeare and bypassing Stratford.

Ministry spokesman Bob Nichols said it "is considering many options to mitigate impacts to farm operations and will work with affected property owners to determine how best their concerns may be addressed."

The ABC report blasted the ministry and AECOM for failing to understand how the farm community works.

"Do farmers have to become an endangered species before consultants recognize that the green land surrounding farm buildings is an integral part of their ability to operate as a business and produce food?" the report asked at one point.

Perth East Chief Administrative Officer Glenn Schwendinger said the highway project is still far in the future after a lengthy study and approval process by a bundle of official bodies. After that, " it will be subject to where it fits in on a list of provincial priorities, and if the money is available."

The Perth East document did not take a stand on the issue, merely noting objections and concerns expressed by township residents along the proposed route.

Chief among them were: loss of some 500 acres of agricultural land, the possibility of farms or parts of farms being "landlocked" without access to roads and the future viability of the tourist-friendly hamlet of Shakespeare, about five kilometres east of Stratford.

The latest proposed route bypasses Shakespeare after residents loudly and persistently objected to a proposed route through the heart of the hamlet.

Now the community is threatened with being cut off from tourist traffic that will cause it to wither away, ABC contends. BF

 

Current Issue

June/July 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Canadian Farm Income Sees Sharp Decline

Monday, June 2, 2025

In 2024, Canadian farmers experienced a significant financial setback, with realized net income dropping by $3.3 billion, or 25.9%, to $9.4 billion according to Statistics Canada. This marks the steepest percentage decrease since 2018. When cannabis is excluded, the drop stands at... Read this article online

Ontario Crops Progress with Cool Stress

Monday, June 2, 2025

Ontario field crops are progressing despite challenging spring conditions, according to OMAFA's FieldCropNews.com. Winter wheat has reached the heading stage in the southwest, with T3 fungicide applications beginning. Fields in the north and east are at the flag leaf stage. This is a... Read this article online

Be ready for your next flat tire

Friday, May 30, 2025

By Braxten Breen Farms.com Intern The Andersen Hitches Rapid Jack is a three-in-one tool - a tire jack -- that can also be used as a post block or a wheel chock. Its main purpose is to help change tires on trailers, and this cool tool is made in the USA. It is an innovative Tire Jack... Read this article online

An Ontario Foodbelt? Two MPPs want to see it happen

Friday, May 30, 2025

Ontario has a Greenbelt and a Whitebelt, and if two MPPs are successful with a piece of legislation the province’s future will include a Foodbelt. Green Party of Ontario Leader Mike Schreiner (Guelph) and independent MPP Bobbi Ann Brady (Haldimand-Norfolk) tabled Bill 21, the Protect Our... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top