Caledon Countryside Alliance - Municipal Election Watch 2006

Municipal Election Watch - 2006

Replies to questions from the regional and area council candidates for Ward 2 listed in alphabetical order by last name:

Q2: What will you do to help the local agriculture community in Caledon become a stronger and more vibrant part of our economy?

"I see us utilizing technology to provide direct to market delivery of products to increase revenue to producers (farmers) - Promote the benefits of our distinct blend of rural/urban mix and champion reasons for maintaining and strengthening the prosperity in each sector as complimentary to each other. I believe Caledon should focus on its commitment to agriculture through the interpretation and enforcement of regulations to assist agriculture to profitably adapt practices in the new environmentally responsible environment."

"The Peel Federation of Agriculture, in conjunction with the local agricultural representatives from the other counties and regions in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) commissioned an economic impact study a few years ago to get a specific determination of the type of impact the agricultural community plays within our Region. With all the growth that the Region has been experiencing, it is true that the number of farms and farmers is tremendously reduced--however, the businesses that remain and the economic spin-offs that they generate continue to be one of the strongest economic drivers in our community."

"No initiative will be able to restore or replicate what the agricultural industry in the Region once was--but what we do need to do as a municipality is to ensure that whatever the industry needs to remain progressive and viable are options that we continue to make available to them."

"While preservation-type designations to preserve the aesthetics of agriculture may be popular with the masses, they can create restrictions for primary agricultural operations and vertically-integrated farm markets. We need to reduce the type of restrictions that are being imposed of on our agricultural operators. The agricultural community is currently undergoing the worst economic crisis that the industry has seen in the last century and keeping the family farm business may mean supplementing the farm operation with a secondary business. We must use common sense and fairness in developing tools and programs that can work for these families if we truly want the farming operations to remain in our community."

"I’m a strong advocate of buy local and in our community we have a number of farm operations that feature retail venues."

"With the increasing ethnic diversity of our community, this also presents new growth opportunities for the agricultural industry. This is a large market that I believe remains under serviced and the farmers of the Town of Caledon and the Region of Peel are geographically best positioned to address those markets--but it may mean thinking “outside the box”. The agricultural community must find ways to tap into this market and if we want to help our agricultural stakeholders, as a municipality, we need to ensure that our staff keeps an open mind about how best we can work with them to help them capture new markets and opportunities with the growing ethnic market."

"One concern of the agricultural community that emerged during the public consultations for the provincial government’s greenbelt legislation was about how operations will be able to grow and manage growth. This is something that at the municipal level we need to be cognizant of as well. While farm operations may make pretty pictures, they are active agricultural production businesses, and the same as any other business, they need to grow and adapt to changes to remain competitive and viable. The size and scope of a farm operation today that is viable may be very different from the type of operation that will be viable five, ten or fifteen years down the road. If we want to keep a strong, active agricultural industry in our community we will need to make sure that our elected officials and town staff work collaboratively with the agricultural community stakeholders to ensure that these businesses will be able to grow and adapt to market conditions."

"I think the Town, and hence the Region, must be a strong and vocal supporter / advocate of the agricultural community. Protecting the agricultural community’s rights (land use, etc.) to do what they want with their land. Ensure no unfair demands by other levels of government or land grabs – i.e. generic regulation’s arbitrary boundaries around supposed water sources, when the land has not been properly inspected. Lastly, market the agricultural and village way of life to those in Caledon who have chosen a more urban setting, thereby increasing the opportunity for residents to shop in their own neighbourhood – directly from the agricultural community."