For immediate release:
November 6, 2024
Queen’s Park—MPP Bobbi Ann Brady today stood in the Ontario Legislature to ask Premier Ford point blank about his plans for the 567 hectares of land the Ontario government transferred to and holds under the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and Economic Reconciliation at Townsend.
“Speaker, through you to the Premier, could he please inform the people of Haldimand-Norfolk what the plans are for the 567 hectares at Townsend?” Brady asked.
For Brady’s supplementary question, she asked, “…The people of Haldimand-Norfolk, they’re quite wary of land deals as of late, they’ve seen a bunch of bad ones, and they look at what’s going on down the road at Wilmot Township…My office has been trying to pin down which jurisdiction the 567 hectares is in…We were told the land is being held for social purposes. We don’t know what that means…Why has this government transferred the Townsend Land Assembly to the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and Economic Reconciliation?”
Brady also reminded the Chamber about Empire Homes’ proposal to build a city of 40,000 within the province’s largest industrial parks at Nanticoke and compared it to the Townsend debacle.
“This hare-brained idea was tried in the 70s at Townsend – just down the road from Nanticoke,” Brady said. “(Townsend) was to be a hub…large swaths of farmland were turned into wide parkways, municipal offices were put in but Speaker, it was not the field of dreams – nobody came. In fact, only 161 hectares of the slated 35,000 were ever developed. One of the largest development failures in the province’s history.”
Brady discussed the fact she constantly gets asked why Empire Homes is not being encouraged to develop at Townsend, where infrastructure exists and where conflicts with new homebuyers and their industrial neighbours can be avoided and well-paying jobs protected at Nanticoke.
Minister of Infrastructure Kinga Surma fielded the questions. She confirmed that the province does own land in the province, mentioned a process that must be followed before disposition of any land holdings, and offered to meet with MPP Brady. And to Brady’s query on what “social purposes” entailed, the Minister clarified that there may be an opportunity to build long-term care centres or affordable housing.
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For more information, contact MPP Bobbi Ann Brady at [email protected] or 519-428-0446