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
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Drone footage shows Ukrainian village battered to ruins as residents flee Russian advance
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Egypt media cite progress in truce talks as Israel downplays chances of end to war with Hamas
A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported "noticeable progress" in ongoing cease-fire talks with Israel while an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a full end to the war.
Bystander livestreams during Charlotte standoff show an ever-growing appetite for social media video
Saing Chhoeun was locked out of his Charlotte, N.C., home on Monday as law enforcement with high-powered rifles descended into his yard and garage, using a car as a shield as they were met with a shower of gunfire from the direction of his neighbor's house.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.