His Wilmot farm is not for sale, but the region wants to buy part of it anyway
CBC
A farmer from Wilmot Township is joining his neighbours in pushing back against plans by the region to buy 770 acres of their land.
Adam van Bergeijk has owned and lived on Mountainoak dairy farm with his family in Wilmot Township since 1996, and now he's in danger of being forced to sell about a third of his farm to the regional government, which has not provided much information about what it would to with the land after purchasing it.
"I don't know where we can get land and we need it to feed our cows," he said.
"Can we [grow] crop this year? When is it all going to happen? We don't know."
He says much of the information is being kept behind closed doors and it's making farmers worried about the long-term health of their farms.
The Region of Waterloo has said the land is needed for future industrial use.
"It would be nice to know what is going on ... because if there is a big factory with all kind of possible pollution or stray voltage, we don't know what's coming."
Van Bergeijk is among six landowners and several advocates calling for the lands not to be expropriated by the regional government.
A group made up of the presidents of local chambers of commerce, economic development, Communitech and Explore Waterloo Region have penned an open letter supporting the Region of Waterloo's plans to purchase farmland in Wilmot Township for an industrial project.
The group, dubbed BESTWR, wrote in its April 5 letter that "this is a critical time" in the region "that requires bold action."
Ian McLean is chair of BESTWR and is also president and CEO of the Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce. He said the land is needed because without it the region could miss out on opportunities to grow.
One opportunity McLean pointed to was Maple Leaf Foods, which in 2012 announced it would build its newest facility in Hamilton.
"We lost our Schneiders' plants here in Waterloo region because we were not coordinated and we did not have one site that was suitable for what Maple Leaf Foods was looking for," he said.
CBC News reached out to Schneider's to confirm the reasons why their new facility was not built in Waterloo region but the company declined to comment on the specifics.
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