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Home My WebLink AboutWingham Advance-Times, 1980-06-11, Page 5. Lir ,;„ ' • :144,:;"4"'..7: .r. • • Call Us Ceanin How seriou You can depend on us for all your clothing care needs. We're experts who are fast, reliable, and reasonable. A good name to know. READMAN CLEANERS AND MEN'S WEAR Josephine Street, Wingham. Phone 357-1242 . numasas talinam is the prp in stud Absentee land ownership rather than foreign owner- ship appears to present the threat to agriculture and the fabric of rural life in Huron County, according to a, report prepared by the University of Guelph. However, while the report outlines the extent of ab- sentee ownership in the county, it gives no indication what sort of a threat it poses or how serious the problem is. • It , does show that about nine per cent of farmland in the county is owned by ab- sentee landlords, a total of about 66,000 acres, but only about one per cent is owned by persons living outside Canada. About four per cent, on the other hand, is owned by persons living .off the farm but in the immediate area, with an equivalent amount owned by persons or cor- porations outside the im- inimems smissm nommoi simmit immens annimm =sum WE CAN "SAVE YOU MONEY" HARDWARE - TOOLS -- STEEL I GENERAL HARDWARE -INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIES 1 1 1 WK STEEL SERVICE CENTRE WILKINSON AND KOMPASS LIMITED (519) 396-7571. DISTRIBUTION WAREHOUSE 226 QUEEN STREET - KINCARDINE, ONTARIO - NOG 2G0 CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-265-3053 SERVICING —. BRUCE — GREY — HURON COUNTIES imumim MEN= =mom iismmm mum= EsEmmt • -"I wncrship trac federation. mediate area but still in Ontario, possibly in other \ parts of the county. The study, carried out at the request of, the Huron • County Federation of- Agri- culture through the auspices of the Rural Development Outreach Project, was un- veiled at a -federation meeting held last week in the Brookside Public School,' Ashfield Township, by its authors, two professors froth the university, Dr. Julius Mage, a geographer, and Dr. George Brinkman, an economist, said they were surprised to find. that foreign ownership was not as extensive as they thought it might be. - They noted that their figures, derived through the county registry office, tended to support the study carried out last summer by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food which concluded it is not- a serious problem. Absentee ownership is potentially a bigger problein, Mr. Brinkman concluded. Non -local Ontario landowners control four times the amount of farm- land as foreigners, and this would have some of the same effects as foreign ownership in terms of driving up the price of land and leading to disintegration of rural commtmities. However he added the study has not yet looked at that side of the issue, which will be studied further in a second phase to get under- way this summer. Two researchers will be visiting some of the plots identified as being owned by an ab- sentee landlord to find how the land is being used: whether it is being leased, and if so under what terms. Mr. Mage said a third phase eventually could look 4he caufl c and social local com- fetee snasdbo rs set on t, didee be • throughout which should mImmtz )‘Mpact on any p ohanirtie fa; :otis*A;;:idthe largest The cps which hNswas held ofill Township of foreign - herd bad 'maw, was spar seLY'atteadecl, with only 'aboUt,..:311 of the Huron federatio18.1330re than 2,000 members-turing out. Even amtmg those at- tending there was not unanimous agreement on whether a problem exists or whowesermiouesorit eis,butthere ersopredictions about -what -could happen if the trend'continued - Adrian Vs said he knows of realtors who have been assembling blocks off land for sale to foreign capital. A- farmer. farmer will stay on as a tenant for a few years, and then he will be gone and the whole block will be leased to a cannery, •which will produce its own commodities and crowd everyone else out. He predicted the trend would lead right back to the feudal •system, with land ownership Concentrated in a few hands, as it used to exist in Europe and exists now in Latin America. He agreed it makes no difference whether the landlord lives in Hamilton, Toronto or Bonn, the effect is the same. Jack Riddell, MPP for Huron -Middlesex and a particularly outspoken- opponetit of foreign ownership, declared that if the trend is allowed to ampoinn TIRE (MA onn TIRE ASSOCIATE STORES - WINGHAM \+. Selected automotive parts and accessories plus many other items! up to (we haggle!) Location: Canadian Tire Store Service Centre. Wingham Only! CA1111011111 TIRE 'AOSOCIATE • STORE • JAMES F. WATT HOLDINGS LTD. JOSEPHINE ST. (519) 357-3714 NOG 2W0 continue it will "reduce future generations to tenant farmers. I'm not sure 1 would want to farm if I thought I was going to be nothing more than a tenant," he added. The MPP, who drove from Toronto to attend the meeting, said he has a feeling that 4'once we lose this land, it's gone. I see many difficulties down the road unless we get it con- trolled some way." He said he expects that a bill introduced by the agriculture minister requiring disclosure of foreign ownership will be passed by the legislature in this session, adding that he wouldn't mind .seeing the point carried even further. "I'm not against restricting the amount of foreign ownership," he declared, noting- that four provinces and 25 states in the United States already have taken this step. A study committee recommended in 1973 that land purchases be restricted to Canadian citi- zens and landed immigrants, he reported, but nothing has been done about it. "Maybe I'm paranoid about it, but I'm still going to take a real firm stand on foreign ownership of land." "I don't think we should be too naive. We should look deeper. It's going to be a serious problem," Murray Culbert, president of the federation of agriculture in Huron . Township, 'Bruce County, agreed. He reported that foreign capital ,has purchased about 3,000 acres in his township, which ad- joins Ashfield to the north. Tony McQuail ' of West Wawanosh urged that tabs should be kept -on land purchases. "How do we ensure that thisdoesn't lead down the road to a situation that is very undesirable in a few years?" he asked. "It doesn't look very dangerous right now, but if • you have two to three blocks assembled each year in 20 years the 'map would look quite different." Mr. Mage agreed, adding that a simple method of updating the maps on . a running basis each year has been devised and will be recommended for the townships. This would keep tabs on ownership changes and would also quickly show trends, he noted. • Howeyer Mr. Riddell pointed out a problem: "You don't know who the true owner of the land is, because you don't know where the capital came from." There 'may be a "sweet, little arrangement" with a local person or company to make the purchase using foreign capital, he suggested, saying he has some evidence that this is occurring. "What you say is possible, but I don't think it's very widespread," Mr. Brinkman responded, and Mr. Mage noted a person would have to have pretty strong reasons to go to such trouble, "although I believe it does happen pometimes." On the other side of the coin,' several farmers questioned whether professors' map 'really showed the whole picture, noting that some of the parcels in the north end of the county shown as being owned by 'non -local, On- tario' landlords have been purchased and are being farmed by cash crop 'far- mers from the south end of the county, Mason Bailey, a realtor from the Clinton area, commented during a coffee break tit he feels the foreign capital is more rumor than fact Lots of rumors drive up the price of land, he said, and some realtors are using the promise of foreign capital to get listings He said that he, himself, has never handled a trara section involving foreign capital, although he has been approached by agents for foreign buyers. STUDY FINDINGS The study of absentee), ownership found an uneven distribution of foreign land holdings in the county Ash- field, with 2,123 acres or 34 per cent of its farmland foreign owned. had the greatest concentration.. followed by Howl with 1,637 acres, Hay wi 913 and Stanley with •735. Zurnberr , East Wawanosh, uckerstnith and McKillop were the only townships with no foreign holdings discovered. Forty-three foreign land- owners were identified, 27 of them Americans, owning 83 separate parcels of land. The greatest con- centrations of land owned by non -local Ontario residents are in West Wawanosh and Turnberry townships, where 6.3 and 9.3 per cent of the assessed farmland respectively were owned by this categOry. Landowners in the local urban category had their greatest holdings in Colborne, Usborne and. Goderich townships. The study reports one area of potential concern iden- tified is that foreign-owned properties tend to be clustered into blocks of land. Another concern could be that foreign buyers tend to be selective and acquire lands with high agricultural capability in the form of whole farm units. Howe'er it adds that the significance of these findings should be' pursued in more " detail before drawing conclusions. •• IT'S A HOT AIR BALLOON --Anyone travellingin or . around Wingham last Thursday could scarcely miss the big red and white balloon floating above the Can- adian Tire store. Store proprietor Jim Watt breught the balloon to town to help celebrate the grand opehlng of the new Zehrs supermarket. Country Cable upset with PUC price hike The Wingham Public Utilities Commission recently increased pole rental prices for Country Cable Ltd. Ken Saxton, PU,C manager, explained the hike, imposed under guide- lines from the Association of Municipal Electrical Utilities of Ontario (AMI), raised the price to,$8.434 froit $5.10 per pole. John Milligan and Robert Wenger, representatives from the cable company, attended a PUC meeting last week to discuss the sudden increase. . "The rates here are far above what we are paying in other towns," Mr. Wenger said, citing several exam= piles where annual rates are between $5.00 and $6.00 per pole. Aware off AMU recom- mendations, he suggested they are better applied to larger centres where the usage per pole is denser. -Mr. Milligan said that the overnight increase of over 50 per cent is unfair to the company and perhaps a more accurate formula could be established between it and the local PUC. He• suggested the commission check other utilities ,to see what their increases have been. "I don't think you'll' find anyone else who has gone the full $8.04," despite the guidelines. While admitting the company should contribute a percentage of costs for the poles, Mr. Wenger said the cable company couldn't, afford the new rate and such a hike would have to be absorbed through cable rate increases in Wingham. "We feel that we are making a reasonable contribution at $5.10," he said. Roy Bennett, PUC chair- man, promised that .the manager would contact other utilities 10 compare pole rental prices, !end the situation would be diaCussed at the next meeting. The commission's financial statement :was presented at the meeting. Figures show hydro revenue over expenditures totalling $72,668. Surplus revenue for water works is $19,053. Hydro surplus for 1978 was $39,988, while water works totalled $56,121. • Mr. Saxton explained that while the 'peal PUC is seemingly in good financial standing, inflation and pur- chases have increased the inventory stock by $6,000 and liabilities against the PUC amount to $87,233. Accounts receivable, including unpaid bills, are $29,003 and assets total $153,417. - In other business, the Wingham commission received an award of merit because no employees have drawn compensation due to an accident in the past 17 years. The record for no time lost, which is held by Han - Over, is 21 years. DONELDA BRIDGE On Tuesday, June 10, alt Convocation Hall, University of Toronto, the degree of Master of Education was conferred upon Mrs. Donalda Kaye Bridge (MacDonald). Mrs. Bridge is the daughter of the late Roy and Eva MacDonald, for- merly of Edward Street, Wingham. She is a graduate of Wingham District High School and Lakeshore Teacheas' College. Toronto. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from' York University and an Ontario Reading Specialist Certificate. Mrs. Bridge is presently em- ployed with the Etobicoke Board of Education as a communications teacher. Friends and relatives gathered at the graduate's home. 17 Spencely Court, Weston, for a buffet dinner ,ri m(1> k.destr ati•ocurg •rorn a distant:. V4 ere air and Mrs Harry Zatanarman (-=ie, Mr. and Mrs Lyle Reidt. Oak - Mr and Mrs. Robert 'Doyle. London, Miss Mar- rianne Bridge. Waterloo. Rev and Mrs. Robert Coch- rane. Milverton; Rev 3 Bev Kay. Kitimat, 13.0 : Mr and Mrs Harold Birt, Freelton. and Mr and Mrs. Robert Goodie. Scarboroligh • Financial assistance • • Management counselling (CASE) • Management training • Information on government programs for business ,Can we help you? • See our Representative • FAYE COOK Winghom Motel Highway 4, Winghom 2nd & 3rd Tuesday of each on: month (Next Visit: June 17fh) FEDERAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENI BA NA (BradCh Office Address) For prior information call 271•565.0 (Collect) Write 1036 Ontario Street, Stratford, °Mork". Or „ •