In an April 11, 2024, press conference in Cambridge, Ontario, Ford said he has asked regions and municipalities across the province to assemble land for industrial investment purposes. This includes 770 acres of farmland in Wilmot Township, just outside of Kitchener, Ontario.
The Canadian Independent visited Wilmot Township to investigate what is happening and who would be affected by this land grab. We learned that this land grab would affect precious farmland that amounts to 582 football fields in size, and includes 6 farm owners and would disrupt or decimate a significant portion of agricultural activities in the area.
We visited Mountainoak Cheese, which is affected by the land grab. They are an award-winning, highly reputable dairy farm and a fair-sized cheese production company that sells a wide range of cheeses locally from its storefront. Mountainoak Cheese also supplies its products to hundreds of major and independent grocery stores, as well as various other businesses across the province. We chatted with the owners of Mountainoak Cheese to hear what they had to say.
Adam van Bergeijk moved to Canada from Holland and established Mountainoak Cheese, which has been operating for nearly 30 years. His son, Arjo Van Bergeik, oversees the cattle portion of the business, while Adam manages the day-to-day cheese operations.
Adam says he was approached in March 2024 with an offer to buy his land at an unreasonably low price per acre. Arjo, Adam's son, mentioned that the region has plans to start leveling the farmland as early as August 2024. However, none of the six landowners are currently willing to sign any agreements, leaving everything in a state of uncertainty.
Adam mentioned that the Mountainoak Cheese store front location will not be affected by the land grab. However, the 350 acres of crop they own and rent just north of his storefront location is what they use to feed their cattle, and without that feed, they aren't sure what they will do.
The farmers have hired a lawyer and launched a website called fightforfarmland.com. They are also selling lawn signs to raise awareness and have initiated a petition, gathering over 30,000 signatures so far to hopefully stop the land grab.
Farmers in Ontario have been rallying together in recent years to raise awareness about the alarming rate of farmland loss.
A significant loss of farmland occurred recently in St. Thomas, Ontario, where farmers faced a massive farmland grab that wiped out nearly 1,500 acres of prime farmland for a 2 million square foot Volkswagen electric vehicle battery plant. This project, was backed by the Ford and Trudeau governments.
Premier Doug Ford's conservative government has proposed Bill 185, which aims to expedite certain expropriations and, for the first time, permit local municipalities to provide subsidies to attract new companies. As of April 17, 2024, Bill 185 was under consideration in its second reading and had been referred to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs.
There is speculation that Honda Canada is set to announce a multi-billion-dollar deal with Ontario later this week to build electric vehicles, leading many to wonder if Honda plans to use the land in Wilmot for that purpose.
The Canadian Independent will continue to monitor this story and bring any new developments.
Share this post