Prologue

The Agricultural Business Community of Perth East, the Agricultural Business Community of Perth South and the Agricultural Business Community of Wilmot believe the nature of the Agricultural Sector within the study area is seriously misrepresented in the consultant reports. The criteria used as the foundation in the decision making model to determine the proposed corridor options is therefore inadequate and inaccurate.


We understand the study process moves from a more general level of information to more specific detail as the preferred corridor is chosen and the route selected. However, the beginning of the study is the time when fundamental planning principles and guidelines should be identified. These principles lay the foundation for the entire planning process. An accurate understanding of the study area is required to do this.


The community has come together using information collected from the agricultural producers, members of the community, Statistics Canada data, official plans, agricultural organizations and provincial legislation and regulations to present a more transparent understanding of the resources of the study area. Much of this was available to the consulting team in the development of the first round of reports.


The founding legislative and policy guidelines must be applicable to the area under study. Due to the significance of agriculture within the study area and its Provincial if not National significance, several key pieces of legislation governing the practice of farming are absent from the reports. These should have been recognized in the early identification of study principles and foundation documents that the study builds on. This is a major shortcoming and leads to an almost complete misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the resources and community within the study area.

We believe there are three distinct areas of investigation to be addressed under the broad heading of Agriculture. Agricultural land capability, the consultant has recognized, agricultural business which is completely missing and agri-culture, which has been mentioned but not understood. These factors intertwine within the study area.

If there was a land use category for Provincially Significant Agricultural Business Communities, much of the study area would be designated Class 1+.