Letters to the Editor

Property rights

February 13, 2026   ·   0 Comments

Sir:
Your report, “Attack on Agriculture: Orangeville supports Green leader’s bill to preserve prime farmland” (29 January) stated that Mark Schreiner, Green Party leader, supports Ontario Bill 21, the “Protect our Food Act.”
It’s unfortunate that the townfolk of Orangeville consider themselves qualified to decide what should be done with farmland. The bill’s purpose is to establish a “foodbelt protection plan” to preserve family farms in Ontario and would likely apply to all current farmland.  If that bill were passed, it would look remarkably like the “Greenbelt Plan,” which denies landowners the real value of land for development.
At present, land deemed “agricultural” can be used for only four purposes: fishing, field crops, grazing or forestry. To rezone for housing or other development requires both the county council and Queen’s Park to agree. Conservation authorities have a say in the matter as well.
I agree it’s sad that over 315 acres of Ontario farmland disappear weekly, but at least the owners can choose a buyer. Farmers’ only retirement fund is often the land; farming provides a stable, but by no means excessive, income and little excess money to save. Farming is hard physical work, and a livestock farmer cannot vacation for even a day unless someone is available to feed the animals; so few Canadians choose to farm.
If an aging farmer with no farm-oriented children wishes to sell his land at a respectable price so he can retire, he should be permitted to do so. Finding a farmer to buy it is difficult enough, possibly impossible.  Developers beckon; I receive a real estate invitation in my rural mailbox weekly, while many Canadians cannot find a place to live.
If Mr. Schreiner wishes to preserve farmland, he should make farming more attractive to prospective buyers. He should raise the prices of farm produce so farmers can save for a little retirement. If they cannot, they should be entitled to sell to the highest bidder. Stop Bill 21.

Charles Hooker

East Garafraxa

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