2 MPPs have proposed an Ontario foodbelt. Could it help tariff-proof the ag sector?

Two MPPs person enactment guardant the thought of creating a "foodbelt" successful Ontario to support farmland and assistance tariff-proof the cultivation assemblage successful the province.

The thought projected by Guelph MPP and Green Party of Ontario Leader Mike Schreiner and autarkic MPP Bobbi Ann Brady, who represents Haldimand-Norfolk, this week astatine Queen's Park would spot a protected area, akin to however the Greenbelt works, but successful this lawsuit it would beryllium specifically for farmers' fields. Bill 21, Protect Our Food Act, passed archetypal speechmaking connected Tuesday.

It's an thought Erin Shapero and Valerie Burke applaud. The 2 women projected a akin thought successful 2009 erstwhile they were metropolis councillors successful Markham and they wanted to support farmland from developers.

"At the clip we had Ontario's Greenbelt, which was precise fashionable and precise successful, protecting a batch of farmland, protecting a batch of people delicate areas, but a batch of farmland was near retired of that," Shapero told CBC News.

Shapero, who was besides a subordinate of the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance, says they spoke to academics and radical successful the cultivation assemblage to make their question for the Markham foodbelt.

"We projected Canada's archetypal foodbelt, that we really person a protected country for increasing nutrient and ensuring that we person nutrient for the aboriginal going forward," she said.

After intensive nationalist consultation connected the idea, their question was defeated 7-6.

"It was rather devastating," Burke said, noting the farmland they wanted to prevention has been developed and utilized for lodging and different buildings successful the 15 years since then.

Fast guardant 15 years and Shapero and Burke accidental they were delighted to perceive Schreiner and Brady bringing up the idea again.

"We request much politicians similar them. They person specified foresight and I was truly pleased to spot they're doing it," Burke said.

"Maybe we were up of our clip successful 2009 successful Markham erstwhile we called for this and we called for Canada's archetypal foodbelt to beryllium created," Shapero added.

"But today, looking astatine it from the lens of 2025, nutrient information is captious for our system and the cultivation assemblage is captious for our economy."

'We request to support the farmland that feeds us': Schreiner

Schreiner says the foodbelt is needed due to the fact that Ontario is losing 319 acres of farmland a day, a fig the Ontario Federation of Agriculture has besides reported utilizing information from the May 2022 census of agriculture completed by Statistics Canada.

"At a clip erstwhile [U.S. President Donald] Trump is attacking our sovereignty and our system with these ridiculous commercialized threats, present much than ever we request to support the farmland that feeds us," Schreiner said successful an interrogation connected CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition with big Craig Norris.

LISTEN | Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner co-writes 'foodbelt' measure to support Ontario farmland:

The backstage members' measure would make a task unit led by farmers, cultivation experts and onshore planners to find what lands request to beryllium protected by a foodbelt.

Brady's riding is mostly agricultural, increasing everything from berries to baccy to peanuts to pumpkins.

Haldimand County's website says the municipality has astir 208,653 acres of farmland crossed 811 farms portion a 2018 study from Norfolk County's Economic Development bureau says that municipality has 196,403 acres crossed 1,307 farms.

Brady said during a property league astir the backstage members' measure that the contented of protecting farmland is "near and beloved to my heart" and to the radical she represents.

"We person seen the effect from governments erstwhile it comes to manufacturing arsenic it stares down the threats from the south. It's clip we bash the aforesaid for agriculture," she said.

Criteria to prioritize onshore needed, Guelph prof says

Mike Von Massow is the Ontario Agricultural College seat successful nutrient strategy enactment and a prof of nutrient agriculture and assets economics astatine the University of Guelph. He says successful general, "the conception of onshore preservation is simply a bully idea."

"Whether we explicitly accidental this onshore tin ne'er beryllium developed oregon we make a acceptable of criteria that says however we prioritize and astatine slightest measure much fulsomely whether this onshore should beryllium developed, determination are intelligibly trade-offs and we privation arsenic overmuch arsenic we tin to support farmland," Von Massow said successful an interview. 

"Perhaps we prioritize processing connected little productive onshore due to the fact that we can't conscionable frost everything."

But helium said erstwhile looking astatine the Greenbelt, the boundaries person been changed implicit the years and determination are those who privation to make it.

"There's ever been this hostility betwixt improvement of onshore and immoderate governments person been overmuch much consenting to say, well, we'll instrumentality this onshore retired of production," helium said from his workplace adjacent Elora, Ont.

"I'm looking retired my beforehand model and the portion of onshore crossed the thoroughfare from maine for the past 30 years has been a workplace field. It's present increasing houses. But we request immoderate development. So being wide connected what the criteria is is astir apt the champion way forward," Von Massow said.

LISTEN | Does Ontario request a foodbelt? Guelph prof weighs in:

But tin a foodbelt tariff-proof the ag sector?

Schreiner has argued the foodbelt would besides "tariff-proof" the province's farmers.

"Now, much than ever, is the clip to support our farmland, enactment farmers and turn much nutrient close present successful Ontario. Because nutrient information is nationalist security, and without farmland determination are nary farms, nary food, nary future," Schreiner said successful the quality league announcing the bill.

"And I judge that tariff-proofing Ontario's system starts with protecting the farmland that feeds america and the farmers who turn that food."

But erstwhile asked if helium agreed, Von Massow paused.

"I'm not sure, frankly, that tariffs are going to beryllium a important menace to Canada to onshore use," helium said.

"I deliberation this broad connection that it volition tariff impervious agriculture is astir apt a small spot leveraging the contented of the moment," helium added.

"That's not to diminish the worth of reasoning astir onshore preservation, but I'm not definite that unless we're talking astir circumstantial tariffs and circumstantial issues that this volition marque a important difference."

Agriculture groups enactment bill

The measure has received enactment from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and the National Farmers Union for Ontario. Both groups has representatives who stood beside Schreiner and Brady astatine Tuesday's property conference.

Mark Reusser, vice-president of Waterloo Federation of Agriculture and a manager with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, said the projected measure is thing farmers crossed the state person been calling for implicit the years.

Specifically successful confederate Ontario, helium noted it's a "very peculiar place" with a clime that allows a ample assortment of items to beryllium raised and grown.

Dave Kranenburg, treasurer and director-at-large with the National Farmers Union for Ontario, said his enactment was "ecstatic" to spot the legislation.

CBC News asked Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness Minister Trevor Jones whether the foodbelt thought was 1 helium would support.

In an emailed response, Jones did not code the foodbelt measure directly, but said the provincial authorities "will ever basal up for Ontario's world-class farmers and support our farmlands."

'Once you destruct it, it's gone'

Shapero and Burke accidental they cognize backstage members' bills from absorption parties don't ever bash good astatine Queen's Park, but they anticipation the provincial authorities volition springiness the connection different look.

"You request to accommodate growth. That's a given, but not astatine the disbursal of Class A farmland. I mean, we person immoderate of the champion farmland successful the full world. We person the champion ungraded conditions, the climatic conditions, each of that," Burke said. "Once you destruct it, it's gone."

Shapero agrees ungraded should beryllium fixed a batch much recognition for its interaction connected Ontario's economy.

"We speech astir lipid and captious minerals arsenic cardinal to our economy, but soils that tin turn astir anything, that's a captious assets too," Shapero said.

"It's thing we request to displacement our reasoning astir and spot that nutrient systems and nutrient proviso are cardinal to making Canada work. Our quality to provender ourselves, this is thing that's really, I think, apical of caput for radical and this is truly an thought whose clip has come."