HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-11-01, Page 21THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2012. PAGE 21. By Nathan StevensLand use planning is one of the
most important policy areas for
farmers and general farm
organizations to consider. The
process of reviewing of the
Provincial Policy Statement has
reached the critical point where the
new draft policies have been posted
for review. The Christian Farmers
Federation of Ontario (CFFO) are in
the process of reviewing these
policies and there are several areas
of interest to farmers, both good and
bad.
There are some positive additions
that add clarity and strength to the
protection of agriculture land. The
Provincial Policy Statement divides
areas in a way that limits uses within
that area. In theory, these areas
consider impacts on each other when
municipalities develop their Official
Plan, but it is hard to tell if that
always occurs. The proposed new
policy statement strengthens the
consideration of agricultural uses in
new settlement areas by adding
agriculture to this section.Furthermore, agricultural activities
in rural, non-prime agricultural lands
have been given greater
consideration than in the past as
well.
There are also areas of frustration
in the new policies. The CFFO
believes that extraction of aggregate
resources in specialty crop areas and
prime agriculture lands should not
be permitted. The new statement
does make it moderately tougher for
extraction to occur as it requires
substantive quality and quantity to
proceed, but it can occur. The CFFO
firmly believes that in the long-term
the preservation of our best land for
agriculture is of greater strategic
importance than extracting
aggregate resources.
There are concerns that some of
the language in the statement may be
misinterpreted. For example, the
CFFO is very concerned with the
potential problem that may arise
from the inclusion of the term
“existing” in a clause that protects it
from other policy impacts. In ourview, there is the very real danger
that this term may be misinterpreted
to mean a specific “existing”
agricultural practice, such as just
growing corn, rather than having the
broad meaning of any agricultural
activity in its many forms.
Agriculture is a dynamic and
changing industry, and farmerdecision-making cannot be locked
into one type of production over
time.
These are just a few noteworthy
changes to consider as the Provincial
Policy Statement review process is
nearing completion. The CFFO
and other stakeholders have
one final opportunity to weigh in with their support for some
changes and their concerns about
others. The stage for land
use planning for the next five years
will soon be set, and the CFFO
is working to ensure that it is a
positive one for farmers and
agriculture.
Continued from page 15
legislation. Specifically, we want
food and agriculture to be
reintroduced to the Ontario school
curriculum. Such a change would
increase knowledge of healthy eating
patterns among children and
teenagers and will allow for practical
food-based skills such as how to
properly plan and prepare nutritious
meals.
The Royal provides an important
educational opportunity to rural
youth as well; it gives them the
opportunity to take pride in the tasks
they perform on the farm every day.
The Royal’s various competitions,
showcases and outreach initiatives
help rural youth understand that
what they do is important, and that
the information they know innately
has real value to the rest of the
world. And it helps equip them with
the skills and confidence to share the
important role they have with the
consumers who rely on them every
day.
Royal brings country to city
CFFO reviews provincial policy statement drafts
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