Tag Archives: Kevin O’Donnell

Why are Ontario farmland values skyrocketing? Greens: due to development

Ottawa, ON – Green Party leader and Guelph candidate Mike Schreiner called for the complete protection of prime farmland in Ontario.
“We can’t eat subdivisions, quarries or pipelines,” said Schreiner while attending the Association Municipalities of Ontario Conference
in Ottawa.

“The Ontario government must stop destroying prime farmland before it’s too late.”  Only five percent of Ontario’s land mass is suitable for growing food. Less than 0.5% is prime farmland. Yet Ontario is losing approximately 126,000 acres of farmland each year to development.

“People are tired of the Liberal’s bait and switch government that says one thing and does another. The government’s local food act is meaningless if the Liberals fail to protect prime farmland,” added Schreiner. “There will be no local food if the province continues to lose farmland at a rate equal to the size of Toronto each year.”

Farmland under development threat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Green Party is pushing the government to protect prime farmland from development in the new Provincial Policy Statement, which is currently under review. Schreiner is the only political leader to sign the Food and Water First pledge to protect farmland and source water regions. He has challenged other political leaders to sign the pledge.

“Good soil is priceless and must be protected. It is a shame no Liberal, NDP or PC MPP has taken a simple pledge to put food and water first in Ontario,” said GPO deputy leader Kevin O’Donnell. “The Greens will always put food and water first before developers, quarries and pipelines.”    CP

Big rise in per acre value in only 12months. We're not sure why but Norfolk County and Haldimand County farmland values are missing from this chart and we were unable to find those stats anywhere on the RE/MAX farm realty site.
Big rise in per acre value in only 12months. We’re not sure why but Norfolk County and Haldimand County farmland values are missing from this chart and we were unable to find those stats anywhere on the RE/MAX farm realty site.

 

Supplemental- Ontario farmland values are skyrocketing http://www.fcc-fac.ca/en/aboutus/media/flv_spring2013_on_e.asp

RE/MAX Agricultural Real Estate is bonafide- Farm Market Trends- http://www.slideshare.net/SandraDales/remax-market-trends-report-farm-edition-2011

 

 

Green Party of Ontario offers ‘big ticket savings’ Budget eg: One School System

Though some provinces provide a variation of funding to independent, religious schools, Ontario is the only province to exclusively fund a Catholic school system for its students.

“Ontario’s financial future is at risk, and Premier McGuinty lacks the will to make the hard, long-term decisions we need,” says GPO Finance critic Kevin O’Donnell. “He’s already passed over obvious, big ticket savings. In contrast, our budget priorities don’t shy away from the realities facing Ontarians.”

The GPO believes eliminating the deficit requires challenging the status quo in the province’s biggest budget categories: education, energy, health care, and bringing our tax system into the 21st century.
ONE SCHOOL SYSTEM: The GPO believes there is a better solution than laying off thousands of critical classroom aids and blocking students who need a fifth year to get help. The Liberal government should do the obvious — eliminate massive and costly duplication by merging the best of the Catholic and public school systems into a one French/English public system. The result benefits everyone –a high quality, financially responsible, and equitable education system.

STOP BORROWING BILLIONS TO SUBSIDIZE WASTEFUL ENERGY CONSUMPTION: Ontario cannot afford to borrow $1.2 billion to subsidize pollution and electricity bills with the misleadingly named ‘Clean Energy Benefit’. Instead, we should help lower-income families with the rising cost of living by raising the Ontario Child Benefit as planned at a much lower cost of $90 million. It makes more sense to help businesses and households save money by increasing energy efficiency — a strategy that’s cheaper, stimulates job creation and ultimately boosts government revenue. The government must not cave in to the NDP/Conservative HST Coalition that would borrow more money to subsidize pollution.

INVEST IN ILLNESS PREVENTION: Ontario’s current “sick care” system focused predominantly on hospital treatment is unsustainable. We need to invest more in illness prevention within home and community care settings. This budget must commit at least .5% of healthcare spending to prevention, raise taxes on cigarettes and commit 2% of the transportation budget to infrastructure for human powered mobility — serving both our community health and environmental objectives.

EFFICIENT AND FAIR TAX REFORM: The GPO calls for the elimination of unsustainable corporate tax cuts and a commitment to forming a public commission on the reform and modernization of Ontario’s tax system. We support a tax system that generates the funds necessary for required public services while creating jobs that enrich our natural wealth and our communities.

“It’s time for politicians to stop punting problems to our kids,” says GPO leader Mike Schreiner. “Now is the time to put politics aside and tackle head on these big ticket items in order to balance the books efficiently and fairly.”

CONTACT: Jaymini Bhikha Cell: 416-275-8573 Office: 416-977-7476 jbhikha@gpo.ca
Green Party of Ontario PO Box 1132 Toronto, ON M4Y 2T8 Canada