Power Plant in the Holland Marsh.... Article "Ontario Government deals a blow to local food"... What are your thoughts? Find out the agruements and what is happening...

OntAg Member Tweeted out this article from the examiner.com website: Avia Eek Ontario Government deals a blow to local food http://tinyurl.com/2f4qzgj Let Mr. Clay and Prov. Gov't know this is unacceptable.

Can all sectors of agriculture show support... This article oulines the issue....

Ontario Government deals a blow to local food

Rows of vegetables in the dark soil of Holland Marsh, 40 km north of Toronto

C. Cooper

The Ontario Government is planning to put a 393 megawatt natural gas powered power plant in the Greenbelt. Not only is this plant slated for the Greenbelt, an area specifically protected from development such as this, it is to be located 500 metres from the Holland Marsh. The Holland Marsh is known as the "salad bowl of Ontario" and is located just 40 km/35 miles north of Toronto.

If you have a cottage north of Toronto, then you've seen the incredibly black soil of the Holland Marsh that sits on both sides of Hwy 400 just north of Hwy 9 (Schomberg/Newmarket). The Holland Marsh has been farmed since the 1930s and:

• Has some of the richest soil in the country
• Was designated in 2004 as a specialty crop area in the Greenbelt
• Grows nearly half of Canada's onions and carrots (enough carrots to provide 4 lbs. of carrots for every Canadian) and exports as well
• Grows more than 50% of Canada's Asian vegetables
• Produces over 40 different types of vegetables (carrots, onions, romaine lettuce, red and green leaf lettuce, endive, celery root, parsley, radishes, leeks, green onions, artichokes, spinach, bok choy, swiss chard, kolrobi, chinese broccoli, flowering cabbage, asian radish, cauliflower, broccoli, water spinach, garlic, beets, collards, dandelion, heirloom tomatoes, organic tomatoes, and the list goes on)
• Received a grant in 2008 from the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation to support the growth of more vegetables for local eating

The Ontario Government wants the York Region peaker plant  to handle the times of peak electrical usage, like during very hot summer days. The government is so determined to locate the power plant in the Marsh, that on June 3 they announced that they are exempting the approval of the power plant from the Planning Act. This is a precedence setting decision and over-rides King Township's efforts to fight the plant through the legally accepted channels and pre-empts the decision which is before the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).

There have been some issues with the electrical supply in recent years and the government is trying to close down the coal powered plants, but it makes no sense to put a huge facility like this in the best farmland in Ontario. Its presence can negatively impact the quality and availability of the prime source of local vegetables in Ontario, and in fact across Canada.

The Ontario Government has circumvented the normal planning process by exempting the power plant from the Planning Act. If you would like to express your concern about the potential impact on local food, this decision or process write to:

Larry Clay
Regional Director, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Municipal Services Division, Municipal Services Office - Central Ontario
777 Bay St., Floor 2
Toronto, ON
M5G 2E5

For more information:

• The Globe and Mail, June 3, Province pushing through Greenbelt power plan
• Holland Marsh Growers' Association
  
• Avia Eek, the most prolific tweeting farmer, twitter @eekfarms
• Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation