Advocates protest outside MPP Mike Harris' office in response to region's plan to buy up Wilmot farmland

More than 50 protesters gathered outside MPP Mike Harris' Elmira office to voice their concern over the Region of Waterloo's plan to forcibly purchase Wilmot farmland for industrial use.

The group gathered on Thursday afternoon, waving signs that read: "unwilling community," and "save our farmland."

The protesters wanted to share their frustration with Harris, but they say that since an initial request to meet the Kitchener-Conestoga MPP on April 24, he still hasn't organized a time one month on.

"He's our representative, our provincial representative, and he should be representing us," said Judy Brown, an organizer of the protest.

"We wanted to do something, so we decided to speak to Mr. Harris, and when that was unsuccessful, we decided to bring our message here to him," she said.

On March 12, six landowners received notices that the Region of Waterloo wanted to buy their farmland. If they do not sell, the land will be expropriated. 

In total, the region is trying to assemble 770 acres in Wilmot Township near the intersection of Nafziger Road and Bleams Road, south of New Hamburg.

One of those landowners is Ashley Myers. She arrived at the protest with her newborn strapped to her chest and her toddler-aged daughter, Millie, in tow.

"We're fighting to keep our farmland," she said. "We want to keep food on the table for our kids."

"We heard today that the group was going to be here, so we wanted to join in to support."

The Region of Waterloo has said it's partnering with Wilmot Township "on land readiness to create shovel-ready sites to attract economic investments and create jobs."

They're calling it "land assembly." In a written statement, the region said they need it "for large-scale economic investments to further support Waterloo Region's economic vitality as it grows to one million residents by 2050."

But the protesters said that wasn't a good enough explanation.

"It really looks as if we are being sold a story about imaginary jobs that are to be created by some yet unknown company," said protester Anne Loeffler.