Farmland conversion and landfill sites

[Acitta]

Ontario NDP leader backs Wilmot farmers

At this time of year Tim and Eva Wagler are usually busy on their Wilmot Township farm, getting ready to plant a new crop of cabbages.

Their 101 acre farm at 3171 Bleams Rd. is not among the properties the Region of Waterloo and the Township of Wilmot want to assemble into a single, large site that is ready for a big economic investment. There are six farms and six residential properties bordered by Bleams Road, Nafziger Road, Highway 7/8 and Wilmot Centre Road the region and township want to buy or expropriate.

The Wagler’s farm is across the road.

The rainwater and spring melt flows off that parcel of land, and into a pond at Tim and Eva’s farm though. They use that water to irrigate crops. If that land is turned into an industrial site they fear losing that source of water. And they are dealing with real estate agents visiting their farm, offering to buy it.

[ac3r]

Heh, we're gonna fuck it up, aren't we?

[danbrotherston]

Ontario NDP leader backs Wilmot farmers

At this time of year Tim and Eva Wagler are usually busy on their Wilmot Township farm, getting ready to plant a new crop of cabbages.

Their 101 acre farm at 3171 Bleams Rd. is not among the properties the Region of Waterloo and the Township of Wilmot want to assemble into a single, large site that is ready for a big economic investment. There are six farms and six residential properties bordered by Bleams Road, Nafziger Road, Highway 7/8 and Wilmot Centre Road the region and township want to buy or expropriate.

The Wagler’s farm is across the road.

The rainwater and spring melt flows off that parcel of land, and into a pond at Tim and Eva’s farm though. They use that water to irrigate crops. If that land is turned into an industrial site they fear losing that source of water. And they are dealing with real estate agents visiting their farm, offering to buy it.

Nah, it's fine, the industrial site will only contaminate that runoff with toxic chemicals, which will then leach into the soil, and destroy even more farmland, and for bonus points, we'll probably not know about it for several years and poison ourselves with what we grow.

But don't worry guys, we'll have created several more exploitative jobs where people can trade their health in return for not quite enough to live on to afford the promised "middle class life".

</cynical>

Ironically I was less cynical when I was reading Ursula La Guin's utopian anti-capitalist novel, than when I was reading Vernor Vinge's pro-capitalist novel.

[ac3r]

Commies sure hate jobs huh?

[bravado]

Once again, I am reserving judgement until we find out what this land grab is actually for.

As for the toxic chemicals claim, some things are a bit messier than sterile tech jobs and Canadian industry has done an above average job at keeping manufacturing pretty clean over time. There are costs to making things in the real world..

[ijmorlan]

There is no excuse for contaminating the ground under an industrial plant. If the plant can’t operate without dumping stuff into the ground, then it isn’t really profitable: the profits are really the proceeds of a fraud perpetrated on future occupants of the land.

The criminal justice system should behave accordingly, and treat plant operators, by which I mean the specific people involved, not their corporate ownership structure, as criminally responsible for any misbehaviour.

[danbrotherston]

Once again, I am reserving judgement until we find out what this land grab is actually for.

As for the toxic chemicals claim, some things are a bit messier than sterile tech jobs and Canadian industry has done an above average job at keeping manufacturing pretty clean over time. There are costs to making things in the real world..

Probably things have gotten better over time, but the sites where factories are in the downtown are still dealing with the contamination from factories.

I do not believe we are less short sighted now, there are somewhat stronger regulations, but nothing like what ijmorlan suggests.

I think the fundamental problem is that there is profit motive, and very little chance of getting caught (or even knowing) about this kind of thing. We put tanks of gasoline in the ground at gas stations, we know they will leak over time, and yet we don't have a government mandated process for ensuring that they are not allowed to leak. Yes, we've added regulation around limiting the leaks by improving design, but nothing is forever, without a requirement for active management, we know this kind of thing will always lead to contamination. To say nothing of stations that are left abandoned by companies which no longer see value in operating them.

[panamaniac]

There is no excuse for contaminating the ground under an industrial plant. If the plant can’t operate without dumping stuff into the ground, then it isn’t really profitable: the profits are really the proceeds of a fraud perpetrated on future occupants of the land.

The criminal justice system should behave accordingly, and treat plant operators, by which I mean the specific people involved, not their corporate ownership structure, as criminally responsible for any misbehaviour.

A modern manufacturing plant is not likely to be contaminating the ground.

[Acitta]

Commies sure hate jobs huh?

Are you saying that farmers are communists?

[ijmorlan]

Commies sure hate jobs huh?

Are you saying that farmers are communists?

I don’t take everything ac3r says equally seriously.

[danbrotherston]

Are you saying that farmers are communists?

I don’t take everything ac3r says equally seriously.

I think they're pretty clearly calling me, not the farmers, a "commie"...

In their defence I did actually question capitalism in my comment so, I mean, to some people any questioning of capitalism is communism! (DUN DUN DUUUUH). The rest is of course, just nonsense.

[Acitta]

Fight for Farmland
Supporting landowners, protecting our farming roots, and our region’s water supply.

[ac3r]

Their own website says it all: a tiny piece of farmland.

Consider me a new Conservative voter.

[Bytor]

Commies sure hate jobs huh?

When you can't make a reasonable argument based on facts and logic, just start throwing insults, strawmen, and other logical fallacies.

[westwardloo]

Interesting that a party that was once considered the Labour Party of canada is backing rural farmers (Typically Conservative Voters) instead of the thousands of unionized jobs (used to be NDP voters) that could be coming to ontario.