By Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The chair of Waterloo Region said the municipality lost out on $4.1 billion in investments and over 5,000 jobs over the past three years - something she doesn’t want to see happen again.
Karen Redman and the region’s director of innovation and economic development Matthew Chandy held private press briefings last week and the Wilmot Tavistock Gazette was among the outlets invited. While some new information was released on why a plot of land in Wilmot has been selected for future development, there are still a number of unanswered questions.
Redman explained there is no industrial mega-site available in the area and added after over four months the Wilmot land acquisition has reached one-third of the 770 acres. She said the move is being done to improve the quality of life for residents.
“I’ve done this a little while and I will tell you political leadership is about doing the right things for the best reasons. I hear from lots of folks and I would have to acknowledge that mega-projects like this affect people differently. Change is often difficult.”
She added there are many voices in the township, the region, and beyond, who are very supportive of the plan.
“I recognize people react differently to a project like this but again, we are focused on fair and equitable treatment of the landowners and we continue to have very progressive conversations and negotiations with them.”
Wilmot councillors Harvir Sidhu and Kris Wilkinson recently went public demanding the region provide more information for ratepayers and landowners. The Gazette asked Redman how she would grade the region’s transparency over the last four months. She did not directly answer the question but talked about development the area has missed out on and added the region did publicly hint at what could be coming.
“It’s always difficult when people don’t feel they have the full picture. It’s one of the reasons why we talked about the Ontario Jobsite Challenge and the fact there is this land bank. There is a narrative and structure that led us to having this as one of the pillars in the strategic plan of this current regional council.”
The Jobsite Challenge is a provincial inventory of mega sites that can support large-scale manufacturing operations which are in turn marketed to international and domestic investors as part of the open for business jobs strategy. Sites typically range from 500 to 1500 acres.
Redman explained the region has signaled in a very public process on two occasions it needs to find land to house a mega site and they discovered it couldn’t happen inside the region’s urban borders. She also maintained property owners are being respected.
“Real estate negotiations are always done privately out of respect for landowners and we will continue to do that. Staff have gone out and hand-delivered information packages. I believe and hope landowners feel they are being heard by the region and dealt with fairly.”
The region maintains there are no deals on the table and Redman added any potential user of the land would have to go through the normal processes and approvals before anything is built.
“There are lots of safeguards along the way where those approvals would have to be met.”
Chandy, who provided reporters with a 15-minute presentation, added the main focus at the moment is on land assembly.
“Nothing else happens. Our focus is to go through this process right now. Our studies have really focused on what could be included but there are going to be a lot of things that happen down the road we can’t answer at this point in time. Our focus is getting through this important phase.”
One important part of the land acquisition is how will the region be able to pay for it. If $60,000 is paid for each acre, it equates to over $46 million. The Gazette asked Redman where that money would come from.
“I would just reiterate the Region of Waterloo is leading this land assembly and we are the owners of the land that has been acquired. This is a mega project. One of the other questions is about third-party consultants. Clearly, we hire a lot of (them) on a variety of projects.”
The Gazette asked Redman a second time where the money was coming from to pay for the land purchased to date.
“The region is buying the land.”
The Gazette asked her if money was being borrowed to pay landowners.
“No. We own the land.”
Alfred Lowrick, spokesperson for the Fight for Farmland group, said the region has been able to acquire three residential properties and one farm and added three other residential property owners are adamant they want to stay. No conversations have occurred with them.
“They are all part of our group that remains. They are dealing with our lawyer who is an expropriation expert. No offers have come through her. The region is expecting the farmers to come up with a number. If anyone negotiates, the buyer should be putting something forward first.”
The Gazette reached out to the attorney’s office for comment but did not receive a response by press time. Lowrick added there was a piece of paper brought forward at the beginning of the land grab that wasn’t signed and included an inadequate number.
“The farmers said go away, and then the region comes up with something less. Where do we go with that as far as being fair and equitable? If they are going to be interested in putting a fair settlement forward, should they not be bringing it forward to our legal counsel?”
He added farmers are currently harvesting wheat and are deciding whether or not to put a cover crop on but aren’t sure if they will have their fields in 2025. Lowrick fully expects the expropriation process would be the next step for the region if they are unable to purchase the remaining land which is a no-win situation for farmers.
“It is a staged process that could take up to a year but in the meantime the negotiations continue. You basically have someone with a big stick over your head. If we don’t agree with their number then we are tied up in the courts. We would lose title to the land at the end of the year. It’s a scary process.”