Editorials - Aug. 30, 2024

A new study from the University of Waterloo has been cited across major American media networks in recent weeks. The study warned that a rise in temperature of just three degrees Fahrenheit would result in a 40 per cent reduction in yield for strawberries. The beloved summer berry is a major crop in the U.S. worth over $3 billion annually to its economy.

 

The research shows how tied the global food supply is to the environment and advocates for the continued adoption of sustainable agriculture practices, such as drip irrigation, crop shading to avoid heat stress and scheduling to avoid peak heat periods. The researchers chose strawberries as their initial study model due to the fruit’s popularity with consumers and notoriously short shelf life, but warned that their findings could be extrapolated across many commodities.

 

We have just hit the hottest 10 years ever recorded, all in the last decade, so our relationship to the planet should be at the forefront of government policies and agricultural practices if we want to be able to continue to feed the 8.2 billion people who share it. – DS

It wasn’t so long ago - just a few months, in fact - that this editorial board offered rare congratulations to Doug Ford’s Ontario government on splitting the vast portfolio of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Local MPP Lisa Thompson would oversee Rural Affairs and Rob Flack’s charge would be Agriculture, Food and Agri-Business.

 

This showed Ontarians that the government was taking rural issues seriously and that not all rural affairs involve agriculture; that concerns like healthcare, homelessness, addiction and mental health mattered in, say, Huron County and demanded their own, rural solutions.

 

How wrong we were. Two ministers overseeing issues pertaining to agriculture and rural affairs means there are twice as many people to say absolutely nothing as prime farmland is stolen from farmers.

 

While Ford’s government has been rightfully scrutinized for its role in the expropriation of prime agricultural land in Wilmot Township, including refused Freedom of Information requests and a complete lack of transparency, the silence from Flack and Thompson is deafening. Neither has addressed the issue in a major way. Flack has offered an all-time non-answer with, “What this is, is a land assembly for future projects down the road. We’re a growing province that’s grown by over two million people in the last two years. We need to create jobs - we’re doing a great job of that.” From Thompson, it’s been crickets. Despite the intersection of agriculture and rural affairs regarding this issue, the people we pay to oversee such things are abdicating responsibility.

 

From ignoring expert advice to selling off valuable assets, the Ford government has shown nothing will get in its way. And yet, Thompson and Flack must be held responsible, rather than being considered part of an amorphous government blob. If they are the true overseers of agriculture and rural affairs in this province, we need to hear from them. If this is a good plan whose juice is worth the squeeze, tell us why. If it’s not, fight for us. Silence is not an option. – SL 

For too long, Canada’s housing crisis has cast a shadow over our communities, with solutions seeming just out of reach. Amid endless discussions and unfulfilled promises from various levels of government, recent developments offer a refreshing shift from talk to tangible action.

 

The federal government’s addition of 56 properties to a new public lands bank is an encouraging development in the quest for increased access to affordable housing. These properties - formerly military bases, Canada Post locations and unused federal buildings - were previously slated for sale, but will now be kept in public hands. This move is designed to ensure that housing developed on these lands remains affordable and accessible. These properties are spread across 28 municipalities in seven provinces, with plans for further additions as further underutilized federal lands are reviewed. This approach diverges from the earlier strategy of selling these lands outright, which would have resulted in a loss of control over their future use.

 

Five of the properties have already moved into the development phase, including sites from former military bases in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Ottawa, as well as a former National Film Board building in Montreal. This is just the beginning of what the new land bank could achieve, offering a practical start toward addressing the housing shortage. And while this initiative won’t solve the housing crisis overnight, it reflects a genuine effort to tackle an urgent issue that has been discussed for far too long without adequate action. 

 

Looking ahead, we should view this development not as a comprehensive solution, but as a promising start. It indicates that action is being taken and marks a step in the right direction for addressing one of our most pressing social issues. Let’s hope this momentum continues, leading to further progress and real solutions in the future. – SBS