WELLINGTON-HALTON HILLS – Six of the seven candidates vying for a seat in Wellington-Halton Hills in the upcoming provincial election took part in a virtual debate on Feb. 18 that was hosted by the Wellington Federation of Agriculture.
The focus was on farming and what the candidates would do to protect farmland from development and ease some of the financial burdens farmers bear while trying to make a living.
In attendance were:
- Alex Hilson of the Liberal Party;
- Simone Kent of the NDP;
- Bronwynne Wilton; Green Party,
- Stephen Kitras, New Blue Party;
- Ron Patava, independent; and
- Jason Medland, Ontario Party.
PC candidate Joseph Racinsky declined to attend.
WFA president Barclay Nap acted as moderator, asking questions prepared by the membership that focused on their top concerns: attracting young people to farming and succession planning, protecting farmland from urban sprawl, and offering some form of tax relief for farmers.
How would you support farmers and create a stable food supply?
Patava said he’s involved in an initiative that would provide locally-grown, organic food to schools for student nutrition programs.
That program should be expanded province-wide, he said, providing new revenue for farmers and food for students.
Kitras said farmers should be allowed to operate secondary businesses on their farms, like making cheese or wine to supplement their incomes.
He added the province should have more abattoirs for small-scale producers.
“Regulations should not strangle their ability to make a profit,” Kitras said. “Farmers should be able to diversify.”
Wilton said the Green Party is the only party with a fully costed platform that would include local food hubs and a food infrastructure fund to address supply chain issues.
She said it’s important to invest in agriculture technology, “to be innovators of the future.”
Kent said the pandemic really showed shortcomings in the supply chain and the NDP would work to improve that.
She said the party would protect farmland from development and remove tolls from Highway 407 for trucks to reduce the need to pave over farmland.
Medland said the food inspection system needs to be more “robust” with shorter turnaround times for lab tests.
He also thought removing inter-provincial trade barriers would improve stability for farmers.
Hilson said programs like right to repair, risk management and succession planning, along with a fund to help with capital projects, would help farmers.
How would you help young farmers get land and education?
Kitras said there needs to be a new banking system for farmers so they can purchase million-dollar properties to get into the market.
“Medium-sized properties are disappearing,” he said. “They are being gobbled up by municipalities or foreign ownership.”
Wilton said the average age of farmers these days is about 56, “so we need to think about generational succession. And ways to bring young farmers on board.”
Kent said the NDP will increase funding for research and post-secondary education, which will help young people hoping to become farmers.
“We will also work with municipalities so farms can stay farms,” she said.
Medland said land is expensive, but it’s “organized crime and money laundering through real estate” that’s to blame.
Hilson said the Liberals have a succession planning framework and a capital support plan to help with the high cost of land and equipment.
The Liberals would also open 40,000 spots for co-op students “to get them working again,” many in farming, he added.
Patava said young farmers need to form cooperatives to get their foot in the door.
“Start small and scale up through the cooperative model,” he said.
How would you protect farmland from urban sprawl?
Wilton said the Green Party would establish the Ontario Foodbelt, similar to the Greenbelt, to protect agricultural land from development.
It would also develop a housing strategy to prevent urban sprawl.
Kent said smart land use planning will protect prime farmland. Allowing for more density, legalizing four-plexes, and adding affordable homes will also decrease the need to sprawl into farmland.
“The main thing is zoning,” said Medland.
He said too many developers are buying agricultural land and just sitting on it.
“They are not used for farming,” he said.
Hilson agreed good land use planning is the answer. He also said the Ontario Land Tribunal – the agency that can overrule municipal planning decisions – needs an overhaul.
Medland acknowledged he doesn’t really know agriculture but has friends who wanted to sell their dairy farm to a developer to fund their retirement, but the land wasn’t zoned for development.
“You’re taking away their freedom to make decisions on their own,” he said.
Kitras said the Canadian economy runs on land development, making protecting farmland very complicated.
“We need a policy for Ontario so it is entrenched,” he said. “No expropriation, and we need the freedom to do what we want with our farms.”
How would you support diversifying farm operations?
Medland said these kinds of decisions – what other operation would be allowed, as well as farming – are really context-dependent.
He said he is in favour of giving tax breaks to farmers who attempt to diversify, at least in the first few years.
Hilson said agri-tourism is one form of on-farm diversification and he’s for it. As well, the Liberals have a plan to cut taxes for small businesses.
“Rather than cutting taxes, you need to create markets,” Patava countered, and he harkened back to the school food program he had already mentioned.
Wilton said the Green Party would prioritize Ontario food procurement and eliminate property taxes for farmers with diversified uses.
Kitras said the New Blue Party would lower the HST to three per cent “and eventually get rid of it,” he said.
Kent said the government needs to support farmers and their diversified uses of their land, but zoning decisions must be left to municipalities.
How would you address funding disadvantages for rural municipalities?
Hilson was sympathetic to municipalities and the services that have been downloaded without supportive funding.
He said the federal and provincial governments should be responsible for water, wastewater and bridges and culverts as they are so costly, especially for smaller municipalities without a strong tax base.
Patava said more money should be transferred to municipalities from the province to deal with expensive infrastructure repairs, although decisions on projects should remain local.
“The funding is out of whack,” he said.
Kitras said more money needs to be allocated to rural municipalities for infrastructure projects.
Wilton agreed there needs to be stable funding rather than one-off grants so municipalities have the money to repair bridges.
She said climate change effects, such as flooding events, need to be factored into these repairs.
Kent, too, said the province needs to open the purse strings and spend more money on infrastructure in rural municipalities.
Medland said infrastructure should be managed by the province and the funding should come from the federal government.
“They should stop throwing money away and deal with the problems as home,” he said.
Should renewable energy sources like wind, solar or battery storage be allowed on agricultural land?
“New Blue is against solar and wind power, and we don’t believe in subsidizing it,” Kitras said. “Small nuclear reactors create reliable energy.”
Wilton said the Green Party supports green energy and locating the projects on farm property.
“We want to remove the red tape for farmers and energy providers,” she said, citing things like how placing solar panels on barns can benefit the farmer and the electrical grid.
Kent said yes to the question, “but it cannot impact the agricultural land.”
Medland said he’s not a fan of renewable energy.
“Nuclear and fossil fuels are what we’re stuck with,” he said.
Hilson said he’s in favour of renewable energy and understands the need for more energy as Ontario grows.
He said there are innovative ways to mesh energy storage with farming, but it will need consultation with neighbouring farmers.
Patava suggested geo-thermal energy as another option.
Where do you stand on property tax relief for farmers and a new tax class for abattoirs and food processing?
Kent said the NDP doesn’t have a policy on this but is open to creating “an innovative solution.”
Medland said property tax relief would be good, “but you will have to reduce expenditures somewhere else to do it. Those are hard trade-offs.”
Hilson said tax classes need to be investigated to find solutions.
Patava said it would be better to tax developers who are sitting on land.
“Tax unused land,” he said.
Kitras said farmers get less for their tax dollars than their urban cousins and he is not in favour of raising them.
Wilton said the full “value chain” needs to be valued and tax incentives offered when warranted.
Nap closed the debate by encouraging people to cast their vote in the upcoming election on Feb. 27.
“We are mostly a rural riding,” he said. “You have a voice. This is the time to use it.”
