The Highway to Hell...

is paved with good intentions…
I have updated this posting as the GTA West is getting closer to having comments filed with the MTO.
Kudos to Halton HIlls resident Peter Motem for the mock up of the sign...

The MTO has picked the worst possible solution and have ignored reality and obvious ones.
They have ignored that they could build out 401 from Tremaine over to Winston Churchill with 12 lanes by going to a urban cross section instead of a rural cross section. That means they need no more road width and can build it in there present road allowance.
They have also ignored the fact that GO will be coming to Kitchener and have not provided for increased rail traffic.
It is the same old "paving paradise".

While the land in that area is under tremendous pressure from developers. It is still productive farmland. It will be under more pressure if it is near a major highway and the developers will push for housing.
My vision is for crops of wheat, corn or beans not houses!

A year ago they had 2 options for us to cinsider. What they did was pick them both!
At Council we voted the other night to adamantly oppose the 4-3 option. The 4-2 can bring a needed bypass to Norval.
The 4-3 may end up bringing some economic development to Halton HIlls but at what price?

My vision is for a sustainable agricultural area in Halton HIlls, not freeways or more then likely toll roads across our remainging farm land.


What it means to Halton HIlls is that our farmland south of 10 SR will be effectively frozen for 3 to 5 years. Also all the houses and businesses in this area will have to have MTO approval for any application they wish to file. How would you feel if it was your land?

We wil be out with post cards preaddressed to the Minsiter, Look for us around town th enext few weeks.
Here was the original posting.



Over the last couple of years the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) has been looking at options to move goods, people and services across the gridlock that is southern Ontario. A variety of areas were looked at and it was focused down on a couple. One that will have an impact on us will be the GTA West Corridor study.


The GTA west study has looked at a variety of options that impact us here in Halton Hills from a northern route across the of the GTA to connect basically, Kitchener with the 400. This first option would be located north of Acton and would be a 8 lane 400 series highways. It would traverse the Niagara Escarpment, the Greenbelt and the Oak Ridges Moraine. There have been a lot of concerns from Guelph Eramosa mayor Chris White as it would wipe out a large swath of the best farmland in the area and could have a detrimental effect on the greenbelted farmers. The study is not recommending it go forward.
Two options are going going forward and I will summarize them below. The first one would start at the 401/407 (option 4-2) and then head north and cross into Brampton around 10 SR. This is a study area that is similar to what has been looked at by a separate study called HPBATS or the Halton peel Border Area Transportation Study. This study came out of the regions Official Plan as Peel and Brampton had appealed it as we did not agree with there vision of solving traffic from the rapid growth was to dump it into our area.
I was one of the first at Council to object to how they were advertising in our papers requesting the area east of Trafalgar south of Georgetown be frozen while they figured it out. Even a meeting with the Peel Regional Chair showed there desire to ram this threw. Peel would not even talk about the Norval bypass but they finally saw the light! I am glad all of Council showed the same concern and we have taken a long time to get to today’s MOU of working together. This route may have a great benefit to Halton Hills as we could have greater exposure on a 400 series highway for our industrial area. Mayor Rick and I have attended a multitude of meetings and open houses on this one and will keep working on it. It has a price tag of over 600 million. Not one cent has been assigned.
The one with the most dramatic impact on us would start around the 401 at Tremaine Road across the bottom of Halton Hills, cross into Brampton and connect north in a area around Mayfield. This is the option 4-3 written about in the local papers. http://www.insidehalton.com/community/haltonhills/article/853565
This route would cut across all of our agriculture area and would be the deathknell of our farming community in the south part of Halton Hills. A 400 series highway would put tremendous pressure for the area to be urbanised. To have the straight rows of corn and soybeans to be replaced by rows of houses, cars and big box stores. The area would be lost forever and our rich history of farming would be lost. There are some who would benefit as they could flip there land to other speculators. The land owners of today would not as this would be a 20 to 30 year plan.
Our Council is sending a strong message of opposition to this plan to the MTO and the Ontario government. We need to hear from you and your thoughts. Some people have taken the time to write us and the papers about it. Comments and concerns can be sent to any of us and also should be sent to the study team. More information can be found at http://www.gta-west.com My fear as it relieves a choke point at tremaine on the 401 is that the staff at the Province will think it is a wonderful thing to have 12 lanes of traffic there.
I will have more on agriculture tomorrow.

Georgetown Fall Fair

This weekend, an event is taking place that has many times over the last 164 years. It is the latest edition of the Georgetown Fall Fair.
Fall Fairs serve to remind us of the rich agricultural history we have had here in Halton. For those who decide to check out the animals or the agriculture education tent they can see how our farmers would look forward to these events to not only showcase what they had grown. But also to learn about new innovations and machinery that were coming out to make their lives easier, and the crops more productive.


While some of that may be gone the small group of organisers who put the fair together always make sure that there is a educational and agricultural component to the weekend. On the Friday is the agricultural Education day and hundreds of school children come to the grounds to see and learn more about farming. As our country has become more urbanised, some children do not realise where milk comes from, or how much milk a cow can give. Some of the agricultural events were a rabbit show for 4-H achievement day, milking demonstrations, homecrafts, crop judging, Kids crafts, Heavy Horse Show, truck pull and a kiddie tractor pull.
A popular event is always the demolition derby on Saturday night. It draws thousands of people there for the sheer thrill of smashing metal and driving skill. During the day the main stage has a variety of acts for people of all ages.

We lost a generation in Canada where we forgot about our roots. When we looked to imports for lower price instead of looking for food grown by our neighbours. The difference in flavour and quality is worth it. While people are now recognising the benefits of local food, we need to stay in touch with our rural roots. To try and understand why farming is a tough business, but so beneficial to our economic and social well being. Fall Fairs like Georgetown, Acton, Milton and Erin all help us stay connected.

A Crisis in farming

I wrote yesterday about the agricultural community and how it could be impacted by a new provincial highway in Halton Hills. The highway would start at about Tremaine, cross Regional Road 25 and work its way across the south of Halton Hills and cross into Peel at about Winston Churchill and 10 SR.
An 8 lane 400 series highway would be devastating to this area. Not just to the farming community but to the rural residents as well. Tremendous strain would be put on any and all the farmers who are still working the land to sell to developers. The developers would argue that with a road like that there they should be building houses, commercial areas and urban services. The Town would be under pressure to rezone and change the classification of the land. One thing that people can do is ask for there land use to change. If it does not meet the current rules an amendment to the present uses can be applied for and dealt with publicly.
The public process will involve public meetings where everyone is allowed to state their thoughts or concerns with what is planned. All questions have to be addressed. No matter which way we decide, those in favour or those opposed can appeal our decision to the OMB (Ontario Municipal Board). The OMB will look at it and decide on the merits of whether the plans meet “good planning”.

The whole of agriculture has been under stress in the GTA. Halton Hills has worked with the agricultural community to try and make sure their industry remains vibrant and sustainable. We have for the last 4 years hosted Farm meetings where we present what is going on in the Town, but more importantly listen to what is on there minds and how we can assist. We gather anything additional information we may need and report back to the agricultural community.
Farming has been under pressure here as the average age of farmers has increased to about 55. Add to that the next generation is frequently looking for work off the farm. Also with fewer farmers the infrastructure they require starts leaving, such as equipment and tractor dealers, Mobile vets, seed stores and corn dryers. Add in the speculators who look to buy up land and hope they can grow houses, the increased traffic on our rural roads and a disconnect with a populace that will buy any food item not even thinking as to its origin. It doesn’t help when a dozen years ago the Ministry of Agriculture closed the Georgetown office and moved to Guelph.
I was born on a farm, My Dad studied agriculture in college and we had a dairy herd, pigs and cash crops. My Grandfather had a fruit farm just outside of Brookville and grew a variety of fresh berries and vegetables he took to market.
I am proud to sit on 3 organisations that work on rural issues. As a member of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Rural Forum I deal with issues on a national scale affecting all aspects of rural Canadian life. We have repeatedly asked for a Rural Secretariat at the federal Cabinet so there is always a champion at the Cabinet table.

I also sit as a alternate on the Greater Toronto Area Agriculture Action Committee (GTAAAC). This group was formed out of the Green belt decision and the Province started to recognise the difficulties that farming was having in a near urban setting. We have just finished our studies and are starting to prioritize our goals. We also remind people that local food is available here all year round and to look for local first. http://www.gtalocalfood.ca/
At Halton Region I am a member of the Halton Agricultural Advisory Committee, this group is composed of farmers from across the region and represent a variety of different groups such as the cattlemen’s association, Pork producers, Junior farmers, Halton Federation of Agriculture and many more. This group is an advisory group to Council and assists Halton Region with policy directions. We review every planning application in the rural area and provide feedback and comments. Halton Region on the request of HAAC worked with them to became the first Region to use “Local Food Plus” in our facilities.

I know we can’t wave a magic wand and provide all the assistance the farming community will ask for. But I do know that at Halton Hills Council we have always tried to work with the farming groups and understand there needs. We have tried to listen and we have advocated on their behalf. By working together we can hope to achieve a permanent sustainable and vibrant agricultural area in Halton.

The road to hell…

is paved with good intentions…
I have updated this posting as the GTA West is getting closer to having comments filed with the MTO.
The MTO has picked the worst possible solution and have ignored reality and obvious ones.
They have ignored that they could build out 401 from Tremaine over to Winston Churchill with 12 lanes by going to a urban cross section instead of a rural cross section. That means they need no more road width and can build it in there present road allowance.
They have also ignored the fact that GO will be coming to Kitchener and have not provided for increased rail traffic.
It is the same old "paving paradise".

While the land in that area is under tremendous pressure from developers. It is still productive farmland. It will be under more pressure if it is near a major highway and the developers will push for housing.
My vision is for crops of wheat, corn or beans not houses!

A year ago they had 2 options for us to cinsider. What they did was pick them both!
At Council we voted the other night to adamantly oppose the 4-3 option. The 4-2 can bring a needed bypass to Norval.
The 4-3 may end up bringing some economic development to Halton HIlls but at what price?

My vision is for a sustainable agricultural area in Halton HIlls, not freeways or more then likely toll roads across our remainging farm land.


What it means to Halton HIlls is that our farmland south of 10 SR will be effectively frozen for 3 to 5 years. Also all the houses and businesses in this area will have to have MTO approval for any application they wish to file. How would you feel if it was your land?

We wil be out with post cards preaddressed to the Minsiter, Look for us around town th enext few weeks.
Here was the original posting.

Over the last couple of years the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) has been looking at options to move goods, people and services across the gridlock that is southern Ontario. A variety of areas were looked at and it was focused down on a couple. One that will have an impact on us will be the GTA West Corridor study.


The GTA west study has looked at a variety of options that impact us here in Halton Hills from a northern route across the of the GTA to connect basically, Kitchener with the 400. This first option would be located north of Acton and would be a 8 lane 400 series highways. It would traverse the Niagara Escarpment, the Greenbelt and the Oak Ridges Moraine. There have been a lot of concerns from Guelph Eramosa mayor Chris White as it would wipe out a large swath of the best farmland in the area and could have a detrimental effect on the greenbelted farmers. The study is not recommending it go forward.
Two options are going going forward and I will summarize them below. The first one would start at the 401/407 (option 4-2) and then head north and cross into Brampton around 10 SR. This is a study area that is similar to what has been looked at by a separate study called HPBATS or the Halton peel Border Area Transportation Study. This study came out of the regions Official Plan as Peel and Brampton had appealed it as we did not agree with there vision of solving traffic from the rapid growth was to dump it into our area.
I was one of the first at Council to object to how they were advertising in our papers requesting the area east of Trafalgar south of Georgetown be frozen while they figured it out. Even a meeting with the Peel Regional Chair showed there desire to ram this threw. Peel would not even talk about the Norval bypass but they finally saw the light! I am glad all of Council showed the same concern and we have taken a long time to get to today’s MOU of working together. This route may have a great benefit to Halton Hills as we could have greater exposure on a 400 series highway for our industrial area. Mayor Rick and I have attended a multitude of meetings and open houses on this one and will keep working on it. It has a price tag of over 600 million. Not one cent has been assigned.
The one with the most dramatic impact on us would start around the 401 at Tremaine Road across the bottom of Halton Hills, cross into Brampton and connect north in a area around Mayfield. This is the option 4-3 written about in the local papers. http://www.insidehalton.com/community/haltonhills/article/853565
This route would cut across all of our agriculture area and would be the deathknell of our farming community in the south part of Halton Hills. A 400 series highway would put tremendous pressure for the area to be urbanised. To have the straight rows of corn and soybeans to be replaced by rows of houses, cars and big box stores. The area would be lost forever and our rich history of farming would be lost. There are some who would benefit as they could flip there land to other speculators. The land owners of today would not as this would be a 20 to 30 year plan.
Our Council is sending a strong message of opposition to this plan to the MTO and the Ontario government. We need to hear from you and your thoughts. Some people have taken the time to write us and the papers about it. Comments and concerns can be sent to any of us and also should be sent to the study team. More information can be found at http://www.gta-west.com My fear as it relieves a choke point at tremaine on the 401 is that the staff at the Province will think it is a wonderful thing to have 12 lanes of traffic there.
I will have more on agriculture tomorrow.