So why has The Nature Conservancy of Canada aimed it's sights upon Norfolk County's farms? We've uncovered data that shows that the NCC has purchased at least 40 farms in the area.
These once productive farms have been taken from production and the buildings on them are now being torn down. In a recent flyer circulated by The Nature Conservancy of Canada, they claim that they have removed 56 'derelict' buildings from these former farms. We've taken some images of these 'derelict' buildings to show you the amount of damage being done to our Community in the name of conservation.
The damage that we speak of is 3 fold. First The Nature Conservancy of Canada displaces the families that lived in these homes and secondly they reduce the Municipal Tax bill by turning good agricultural land into so called managed forests or receive a tax free status for Heritage Forest after 10 years. With the house and building value off of the tax bill the brunt of tax base is forever lost and passed on to the remaining Citizens. The third aspect of damage is one felt Canada wide.... 40 farms no longer producing food for families, nor growing food for livestock. 40 farms worth of lost local product.
According to Statistics Canada 2011 we are the Number 1 growing region for the following crops:
Asparagus (in Canada): 1,730 acres
Blueberries (in Ontario): 113 acres
Cabbage (in Canada): 1,167 acres
Cucumbers (in Canada): 1,081 acres
Ginseng (in Canada): 4,440 acres
Peppers (in Canada): 1,109 acres
Pumpkins, Squash & Zucchini (in Canada): 1,795 acres
Rye (in Ontario): 17,489 acres
Sour Cherries (in Canada)
Strawberries (in Canada): 465 acres
Sweet Corn (in Canada): 4,530 acres
To lose 40 families in our area is a big deal to us. Our local businesses and community amenities are suffering. With threats to close our Town Halls and Community Centers coming every year and gainful employment being next to impossible to find, people are leaving to find opportunity elsewhere. The closest Town's in which to find work are Simcoe, Port Dover and Tillsonburg. All of which are a 20 minute drive away. Delhi was once the former center of agriculture in Norfolk County and boasted many farm equipment related positions. It is nothing more than a ghost town now with almost every single industry leaving or going bankrupt. Property values in Delhi have tanked.
All of this is being done in the name of conservation. One would think that Norfolk County knows nothing of conserving our forest but in fact the opposite is true. We're very proud of the fact that we invented it. We are home to Canada's First Forestry Station and 24.5% of our County is currently forested. We get the picture.
Since 2005 The Nature Conservancy of Canada has received $203,765,974 from the Federal Government, $59,911,857 from the Provinces and another $3,688,740 from Municipalities. This money is supposed to help The Nature Conservancy of Canada preserve sensitive areas in Canada. Are farms now classified as 'sensitive' lands? Why is it that the Government feels the need to donate $267,366,571 in the last 12 years so that The Nature Conservancy of Canada can go on a farm buying spree in Norfolk County?
Why is it that the Government makes a big deal of helping Asparagus technology by giving $512k to research? How about Ginseng farmers driving the price of land through the roof as they scramble to secure the remaining farms or to even cut a deal with NCC when they buy more farms?
Should farmers setup a non-profit Corporation so that they too can receive these vast sums of money? Farmers have been in the non-profit category for years anyway but likely can't afford the high priced accountants, lawyers and lobbyists required to wallow up to the trough.
| Year 2005 | 7 properties purchases | 796ac | $2,208,000 | |
| Year 2006 | 9 properties purchases | 755ac | $2,956,000 | |
| Year 2007 | 13 properties purchases | 1084ac | $5,752,000 | |
| Year 2008 | 3 properties purchases | 546ac | $2,234,000 | |
| Year 2009 | 4 properties purchases | 176ac | $830,000 | |
| Year 2010 | 2 properties purchases | 188ac | $610,800 | |
| Year 2011 | Backus Woods Purchased | 908ac | $5,372,500 | |
| Year 2012 | 2 properties purchases | 146ac | $585,200 | |
| Year 2013 | 2 properties purchases | 423ac | $642,008 | |
| 5023ac | $21,190,508 | |||
| Average Per Year | 558ac | $2,354,501 |
26 properties were converted from a trust company into NCC's name in 2013
10 properties exchanged hands via 2 different trust companies before being registered as an NCC property in 2013.
NCC openly purchased 4 properties
1997 104 acres
2005 102 acres
2005 19 acres
2006 1 acre
***This all assumes that NCC has discontinued it's policy of clandestinely purchasing thru a trust company. With Canada showing it's pride in the Sochi Olympics how proud do you feel knowing that the Nature Conservancy of Canada is using an under handed method to purchase farms without the owner knowing who the true buyer is?
Why does The Nature Conservancy of Canada need to hide their purchases if they truly are doing things for the greater good? Why would any Charitable Organization need to hide any details of their operations including the future plan for Norfolk County.
Here are some pictures taken from Norfolk County's former farms. The Nature Conservancy of Canada describes these buildings as 'Derelict'.
Here is a list of properties that NCC now owns and the Family Names of the Citizen's who used to live here and were part of our community.
| Family | Description | Acres | Assessed $ 2012 | Assessed $ 2013 | Value Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ward | 10 TROYER RD | 3.4 | $240,000 | ||
| Wiens | 309 2ND CONCESSION ROAD | 100.5 | $504,000 | $343,500 | $160,500 |
| Poole | 365 2ND CONCESSION ROAD | 102.4 | $466,000 | $339,250 | $126,750 |
| Poole | 445 2ND CONC RD | 98.2 | $563,000 | $414,500 | $148,500 |
| Rutledge | 133 3RD CONC RD | 47.0 | $305,000 | $241,250 | $63,750 |
| Lambert | 175 3RD CONC RD | 51.2 | |||
| Hiebert | 470 3RD CONC RD | 136.3 | $199,000 | $152,950 | $46,050 |
| Mikes | 1025 3RD CONC RD | 51.1 | $103,000 | $90,250 | $12,750 |
| Squires | 1115 3RD CONC RD | 98.3 | $486,000 | $379,500 | $106,500 |
| PT LT 6 CON 3 37R7088; | 1.2 | $64,000 | $50,500 | $13,500 | |
| PT LT 6 CON 3 NR523970; | 104.3 | $127,000 | $72,250 | $54,750 | |
| Quick | PT LT 17-18 CON 3 37R1800; | 88.4 | $284,000 | $190,475 | $93,525 |
| PT LT 8 CON 4 NR300511 &7 37R3816; | 63.3 | $107,000 | $105,275 | $1,725 | |
| PT LT 17 CON 4 NR387112 | 43.7 | $98,000 | $43,625 | $54,375 | |
| Demaere | PT LT 18 CON 4 NR453772; NR332883; | 22.9 | $87,000 | $82,500 | $4,500 |
| Demaere | PT LT 19-20 CON 4 NR453772 | 136.8 | $302,000 | $251,000 | $51,000 |
| Demaere | PT LT 20 CON 4 37R6779; | 1.0 | $61,000 | $47,500 | $13,500 |
| Hazen | PT LT 10-11 CON 5 NR409906 | 142.3 | $291,000 | $255,975 | $35,025 |
| PT LT 10 CON 5 37R9465 | 0.4 | ||||
| PT LT 10 CON 5 37R9465 | 13.2 | $121,000.00 | |||
| PT LT 10 CON 5 37R9465 | 73.1 | ||||
| PT LT 16 CON 5NR556757; | 19.3 | $88,000 | $82,750 | $5,250 | |
| PT LT 16 CON 5 NR349518; | 19.4 | $88,000 | $88,000 | ||
| Soenen | PT LT 17 CON 5 NR398956; | 101.9 | $126,000 | $99,750 | $26,250 |
| Demaere | PT LT 18 CON 5 NR585915 | 89.1 | $120,000 | $97,500 | $22,500 |
| Lake Erie Farms | 384 6TH CONC RD | 414.1 | $178,000 | $120,250 | $57,750 |
| 839 6TH CONC RD | 49.9 | $184,000 | $149,500 | $34,500 | |
| 848 CON 6 RD | 81.0 | $291,000 | $220,725 | $70,275 | |
| Sal | PT LT 11 CON 6 NR582682 | 50.4 | $94,000 | $67,000 | $27,000 |
| PT LT 17-18 CON 6 NR582870; | 133.1 | $220,000 | $160,000 | $60,000 | |
| Lang | 344 N. WAL/S. WAL TOWNLINE | 104.9 | $68,000 | $53,750 | $14,250 |
| Csire | 821 NWALS-SWALS TLINE | 164.3 | $652,000 | $518,350 | $133,650 |
| 859 NWALS-SWALS TLINE | 87.4 | $240,000 | $175,725 | $64,275 | |
| PT LT 14 CON 7 NR538396; | 60.9 | $106,000 | $59,125 | $46,875 | |
| Zoned Lots | 8 TH CONC RD | 8.5 | $69,000 | $56,250 | $12,750 |
| Demaiter | 995 8TH CONC RD | 182.5 | $574,000 | $445,000 | $129,000 |
| PT LT 13-14 CON 8 37R8280 | 3.7 | $71,000 | $62,000 | $9,000 | |
| Dedeclur | 1337 WEST QUARTER LINE | 208.4 | $662,000 | $498,500 | $163,500 |
| Soenen | 675 EAST QUARTER LINE RD | 165.6 | $221,000 | $173,000 | $48,000 |
| Anderson | 201 HIGHWAY 24 | 68.8 | $462,000 | $390,750 | $71,250 |
| Cronmiller | 306 HIGHWAY 24 | 46.2 | $187,000 | $169,000 | $18,000 |
| 2283 REGIONAL RD 42 | 9.2 | $73,000 | $61,000 | $12,000 | |
| Temmer | 2450 HIGHWAY 59 | 97.2 | $498,000 | $361,500 | $136,500 |
| Saunders | 2521 HIGHWAY 59 | 123.3 | $410,000 | $300,950 | $109,050 |
| Head Office | 579 HAZEN RD | 26.5 | $281,000 | $272,750 | $8,250 |
| White | 709 HAZEN RD | 22.3 | $114,000 | $108,900 | $5,100 |
| Fergus | 510 REGIONAL RD 60 | 213.3 | $400,000 | $302,500 | $97,500 |
| Rendulich | 622 REGIONAL RD 60 | 233.5 | $261,000 | $229,800 | $31,200 |
| Demeyer | 853 -855 COUNTY ROAD 60 | 144.4 | $291,000 | $255,975 | $35,025 |
A total taxable value of $2,435,400 has been lost in one year. With every building that is destroyed the tax base erodes further and dumps the bill to the remaining Citizen's to make up the difference.
No comments:
Post a Comment