Council votes to strike ag committee
Clearview Councillor Robert McArthur has received unanimous support for his proposal to establish an Agricultural Advisory Committee.
McArthur, a Cashtown farmer, made his pitch to council on Monday evening, with members of the local farming community in the audience,
He said the move is partially in response to the threat to agricultural land posed by the Department of National Defence’s Arctic Over-the- Horizon Radar (A-OTHR) project.
“But there’s also little problems coming as people from the city come up and buy land and figure it’s their own playground and take it out of agriculture,” he said, adding that in other municipalities there are controls in place to make sure agricultural land is farmed.
The motion acknowledges that the township’s official plan and strategic plan identify agriculture as a core business.
Deputy Mayor Paul Van Staveren, also a farmer, spoke in support of the motion.
“Our community is very much agriculturally based and we need to protect that,” he said, joining the meeting from Florida. “Foodsecurity going forward in the future is so important to this province, this country. The Americans are starting to wave the flag more and more as they’re gobbling up their own land.”
In response to the A-OTHR project he said, “We have to be prepared to mobilize and identify problems as they rear their heads.”
“I am very much in favour especially if we can get some… younger members of the community, not us old farts who have been around for a while, who can really sink their teeth into some of these issues.”
McArthur said he expects a long term benefit.
“I’m looking down the road to when there might not be any farmers on council and obviously, don’t take this the wrong way, but farmers and city people, there’s a real lack of communication on what goes on out in the farming communities,” he said.
DND has already purchased more than 700 acres of farmland in old Sunnidale Township for the A-OTHR project and has sent letters to surrounding neighbours with offers to purchase thousands more.
Rachel Brooks, who has been vocal in her opposition to the project spoke in support of the motion.
“An agricultural advisory committee is a practical way to build and maintain strong communication channels. It creates a regular space for farmers, agribusinesses and council to discuss matters early on before they become issues that turn into misunderstandings, and potentially conflict. That kind of relationship building really matters in a rural community such as ours.
With the passing of the motion staff has been advised to bring a report back to council outlining the establishment of a committee beginning with the 2026-2030 term, including a mandate that incorporates assisting council in navigating and understanding new provincial and federal legislation/policies that have a direct impact on agricultural lands.
Council was told it could expect the report from the clerk’s department as early as next month.
McArthur said he expects the committee would need to meet three or four times per year, or as needed.
On a cautionary note, Mayor Doug Measures said a committee of council has to adhere to strict procedures and members would be required to declare conflicts of interest.
“So there’s a lot of issues about creating a committee that we have to really balance when we make decisions about what types of committees this council needs,” he said, adding that in the past the municipality has struggled to get members for similar agriculture and economic development committees.
“How many times have we asked volunteers to come forward from the ag community and they just didn’t show up,” said Measures. “Well, that was then, this is now. Now we have a genuine thing that we need our agricultural community to join arms to create a committee that actually serves and helps us make decisions here at this municipality.”
