Wellington County agricultural officials last week took a trip to Queen’s Park and other city locations as part of Perth-Wellington MPP John?Wilkinson’s Toronto 101 tour.
Wilkinson, along with his colleague Margarett Best, Minister of Health Promotion and MPP for Scarborough-Guildwood, co-hosted the educational tour on?March 2.
Wilkinson, in 2004, began the Toronto 101 tour and an Agriculture 101 tour where MPPs and cabinet members enjoy a “taste and tour of the country,” to help educate each group by “building bridges between rural and urban Ontario.”
Toronto 101, which brings members of local farming groups and organizations to the city for a day, began this year with a bus tour to Toronto and a coffee session with cabinet members and MPPs at Queens Park, followed by a visit to question period.
The group was joined by 10 MPPs, including deputy-speaker Bruce Crozier, Minister of Transportation Kathleen Wynne, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Carol Mitchell, Minister of Environment John Gerretsen, and Minister of Natural Resources Linda Jeffrey.
The 26 agricultural members who attended from Wellington County included: John Sealey, PAC Wellington South; Ron Weber, of the Waterloo Wellington National Farmers Union; William Denhartog, of the Wellington Christian Farmers Association; and Karen Bertin and Rob Unsworth, of the Wellington County Cattlemen’s Association.
The agricultural visitors enjoyed:
– a guided tour by Best of her riding of Scarborough-Guildwood, with lunch at the at the Cedar Ridge Creative Centre;
– a presentation and tour of the Boys and Girls Club of Scarborough;
– a walking tour of the historical Guild Inn property, led by Donald Smith, local historian; and
– a tour of the University of Toronto Scarborough campus, led by Professor Franco Vaccarino, vice-president and principal, University of Toronto Scarborough, and Andrew Arifuzaman.
