By Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The group behind the fight to deny the Region of Waterloo access to 770 acres of land in Wilmot Township for a future mega-site development has been dealt another blow in their fight get more details.
Fight for Farmland has expressed deep disappointment and growing concern as the region has again denied a freedom of information request (FOI) for a second time. The group previously had 21 FOIs rejected without explanation.
"We are continually disappointed by the lack of transparency surrounding this proposed industrial mega-site," said Alfred Lowrick, one of the group’s leaders. "Despite two Wilmot Township councillors standing up and thousands of people in our community demanding more transparency, our basic questions remain unanswered for the second time.”
He added the ongoing secrecy is deeply troubling and raises serious concerns about what the region might be hiding.
“We are left to wonder if the necessary investigations, studies and research have even been conducted for this massive proposal, which could have such profound impacts on our community."
"This outlandish project has been bungled every step of the way," added Kevin Thomason, another spokesperson for the group. "Our community is unwilling, and we demand that this absurd mega-site be relocated to a much-less costly location with far fewer negative impacts, using proper planning processes.”
Thomason said the group has no idea why their requests are being denied.
“We don’t know and this is what is so troubling. Our FOIs aren’t asking for detailed real-estate transactions or confidential pricing land is being sold for. We are asking the common-sense questions everyone else in the community is.”
He said those questions include how traffic will be handled, where is the water coming from, where is sewage going and how is a train getting to the site.
“These are things that need to be addressed and they would be answered as part of a normal planning process with open houses, public meetings and research reports. Our concern is what if none of this investigation has been done in the first place.”
Thomason added it was alarming enough to see their first round of requests rejected without explanation or any information at all.
“You usually get what you want. In the worst-case scenario, you get a redacted document but at least you get some information. The fact they gave us absolutely nothing is just so confounding and so contrary to the greater public good.”
One reason the group believes answers should be forthcoming is because of the sheer size of what could be coming if a suitor decides to develop on the land.
“The scope and scale of what is being proposed is off the charts. This is one-and-a-half times the size of Disneyland in California. To put buildings there, it would be on scale with the largest in the world. The Boeing aircraft factory in Everett, Wash., is the largest building in the world and 36,000 people work there every day. It is only 98.3 acres in size.”
Thomason and the Fight for Farmland group have concerns about what would be needed to deliver services such as a rail connection, water and sewage treatment services along with a highway expansion to meet the needs of a mega-site. He also isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Mike Harris.
“He is the world’s best at hiding under a rock. Here’s something horrific. We can find no evidence he has actually set foot in Wilmot over the last five months. We invited Mike Harris to our rally on (Monday night) and he didn’t even respond to our invitation.”
Thomason said other area political leaders such as Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner showed up at the protest with hundreds of supporters.
“We have heard he is spending the summer at the family compound outside North Bay, so if he is spending months up there, how do we reach him?”
Opponents of the land acquisition have been asking Wilmot Township council to declare the municipality as an unwilling host for a huge development on the site. The Gazette asked Thomason if it would be effective since the Region of Waterloo is spearheading the future development. He admitted the situation creates a quandary for those opposed.
“Does it make sense for us to be pounding on Wilmot? The province is doing everything it can to download things to municipalities. Then the province can throw them under the bus and blame them for everything that goes wrong,” he said.
Thomason added he and his supporters are following the lead of municipalities, including East Zorra-Tavistock, that have taken the step to declare themselves unwilling hosts for wind turbines.
“To date, the Ford government has respected that. When Doug Ford came here in April and said they should never be built in an unwilling community, we’ve been doing everything we can to show that with the mega-site.”
Thomason is hopeful that under Bill 185 – the Cutting Red Tap to Build More Homes Act – the planning authority at the Region of Waterloo could be handed to the lower-tier municipalities such as Wilmot Township.
“If we can get the municipality to declare themselves as an unwilling host, it makes it very hard for the region to force a massive development on them.”
Fight for Farmland hopes to convince the region and the province to look at a different parcel of land in the area to have shovel-ready land for development.
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