Business leaders get behind Waterloo Region's plan to buy up Wilmot farm land
A group of business leaders are weighing in on the Region of Waterloo’s controversial proposal to buy farm land in Wilmot Township – and they’re in favour of the plan.
The Business and Economic Support Team of Waterloo Region, also known as BESTWR, shared an open letter Friday endorsing the region’s efforts to consolidate 770 acres of land between Nafziger Road, Bleams Road and Wilmot Centre Road.
The proposal has, so far, been met with fierce opposition from property owners and other concerned residents.
One farmer told CTV News about the region’s “lowball” offer.
“There’s no way I can buy any other farm land in this area for the money that they offered me,” Arjo Van Bergeijk said Thursday.
No details have been released about possible plans for the property but the regional chair responded to concerns in an email to EcoBoosters earlier this week. In it, Karen Redman said having available land is critical to securing future investment and jobs that support community growth.
“Since 2021, Waterloo Region has received numerous inquiries seeking large-scale parcels for development, speaking directly to the urgent need for this type of land,” she wrote.
BESTWR echoed Redman’s position, citing the 2011 closure of the Maple Leaf Foods plant in Kitchener in order to build a nearly $400 million facility in Hamilton.
“In the not too distant past, we lost Maple Leaf Foods and our Schneider’s plant to another community because we were not ready,” BESTWR chair Ian McLean told CTV News. “We weren’t coordinated and organized to have a large scale site that we were all pulling for. That was one of the first signs that we need to be better coordinated, that we need to be speaking from the same song sheet. With every passing day we discovered that we don’t have enough shovel-ready, larger sites so that we can compete for those global investments. We are talking about, for a large piece of property, a billion dollar plus investment and thousands of jobs.”
The BESTWR letter was signed by the heads of Explore Waterloo Region, the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, Communitech and the Waterloo Region Development Corporation.
- With reporting by Colton Wiens, Stefanie Davis and Tegan Versolatto
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'I may have some nightmares:' Man survives being bitten by 2 sharks in Bahamas
A man who was bitten by two sharks in the Bahamas said Thursday he's 'thankful that I'm here' while sharing his story of survival.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.