Protestors say they're 'unwilling' to go along with Wilmot farmland sale

Fight for Farmland wants Wilmot council to come away with one message after their protest Monday night.

“We’re asking the township, the council and the mayor to declare that Wilmot Township is an unwilling host,” said spokesperson Alfred Lowrick.

The citizen group has been vocal about its opposition to the sale of 770 acres of land between Nafziger Road, Bleams Road and Wilmot Centre Road. Since the plan to purchase the land for future large-scale development was made public, farmers and their supporters have asked the township, the Region of Waterloo and politicians to reverse course.

“Doug Ford was very clear back in April that it shouldn’t be foisted on an unwilling community and our community has been doing everything possible to show that it’s an unwilling community,” explained Kevin Thomason, the vice-chair of the Grand River Environmental Network.

Lowrick and Thomason spoke to CTV News ahead of Monday night’s protest.

“Wilmot citizens, landowners and the population have made it very clear they’re unwilling,” Thomason said. “The township needs to come forward and state that they’re unwilling as well.”

In June, Fight For Farmland filed 21 freedom of information requests on the site selection process used by the region. Those requests were denied. The group made another freedom of information request, this time asking for an itemized list of assessments and surveys conducted by the region. That request was also denied.

“[Some] get the redacted document that’s all blacked out and everything like that,” Thomason said. “We’re not even getting that. We’re not even getting the name of the document.”

Supporters at Monday’s protest said the land represents far more than just property.

“I’m concerns about the farmland and just generally the environment,” Township of Wilmot resident Dorothy Wilson said. “We have to be thinking about the future, to think about food security, but access to clean water and those things can be affected if farmland is destroyed.”

The region remains tight-lipped about their plans for the land, saying it can’t discuss real estate negotiations.

Provincial politicians and the region, meanwhile, have blamed each other for the secrecy surrounding the process.

“It’s pretty clear to us, straight from the beginning, that the province was funding it,” Lowrick alleges. “We knew all along. It’s been confirmed now.”

Ultimately, council did not comment on the land deal during the meeting.

Fight For Farmland has another protest planned for the regional council meeting on Wednesday. The group said it plans to keep putting pressure on local politicians.

“It is what it is,” Lowrick explained. “We are here and I will be here for another year if I have to be.”