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Protecting Farmland in the Rouge Valley

By Lorne Small

The Rouge River Valley stretches from Lake Ontario in the south to the Oakridges Moraine in the north just east of Toronto. Much of the land in the valley is owned by the City of Toronto, the Province of Ontario and the Government of Canada. Within the federal lands are over five thousand acres of good farmland which is being farmed by families descended from the settlers who cleared the land in the early 1800's.

The provincial and federal governments are currently negotiating combining their land holdings to create a new type of national park—one containing large tracts of farmland. The CFFO believes that this farmland should be retained as active farmland. We should be protecting farmland when ever and where ever we can. However, some groups with an environmental focus would prefer to see some or all of the farmland converted into a "natural heritage" area by returning the landscape to what grew before the European settlers arrived and established farms in the valley.

The Rouge lands have a special interest for me. Over twenty five years ago Jennifer and I lived in Toronto and owned a business in Scarborough. We were part of a group that wanted to preserve the Rouge. The City of Toronto was interested in creating a huge garbage dump on the farmlands of the Rouge Valley to replace the rapidly filling Keele Valley dump. The lands were conveniently owned by other governments. Lucien Bouchard, then Environment Minister in the Mulronney Government, came to one of our meetings and declared that he would save the Rouge. He went back to Ottawa and did just that. The dump idea was dead.

I recently spent some time in the Rouge. It is a beautiful part of the Greater Toronto area. A well planned park could become a significant national treasure. But please "let farmers be farmers" and preserve the farmland for future farmers. Currently farmers rent the land from the federal government on short term leases, which do not encourage farmers to invest in their land to improve its productivity. Longer term leases and partnerships with government would allow for land improvements like tile drainage and increasing the organic matter of the soils. Organic matter captures carbon, improves the soil moisture and boosts crop yields—everyone wins.

For the millions of citizens of Toronto, the Rouge Valley is a location close to their homes where, with effective planning, they can experience a vast area of natural heritage right next to modern agriculture. I hope the new park will plan and encourage hiking trails along the fencerows of farmers’ fields, and through all parts of the Rouge. This is an excellent opportunity to have our city cousins experience the rural countryside. The CFFO encourages the governments of today and tomorrow, to make wise choices.

Source: CFFO


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