QUESTION PERIOD — Agriculture and Agri-Food
Use of Agricultural Lands
November 5, 2025
My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Senator Moreau, in recent weeks, my office has received numerous emails and other communications about land to be expropriated by the Department of National Defence in Clearview Township, Simcoe County in Ontario for the Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar project. This will destroy 4,000 acres of prime agricultural farmland. Further, it is within 20 kilometres of Canadian Forces Base Borden which already occupies 21,000 acres of land.
Senator Moreau, what do I tell farmers across this country when they ask whether the federal government is committed to saving prime agricultural land in this country — land that ensures not only food security but which is also needed to feed the world?
I appreciate the question. I was born and raised on a dairy farm.
The government highlighted in Budget 2025, which was tabled yesterday, the important contribution that the agriculture, fishing and seafood sectors bring to Canada’s competitiveness, sustainability and food security.
The budget includes many measures to support the agricultural sector, such as a new investment of $109 million in AgriStability. Having said that, there is a question of national security related to your question, and the Government of Canada also recognizes the need to be ready to defend our people and values and to secure our sovereignty with a modern, ready and well-equipped Armed Forces, and those investments and infrastructure will support that.
In addition to the 4,000 acres in Clearview Township, there are 3,000 acres south of London in Middlesex County currently being developed for an EV battery plant being supported by millions of federal dollars. When will your government realize that losing another 7,000 acres of prime agricultural land is putting our food security and food sovereignty at risk, and when will your government realize that food security is national security?
The government recognizes the importance and role that agricultural producers play in ensuring our food security as well as their significant contribution to our national security and sovereignty.
It is important to note that land use planning falls under provincial jurisdiction. In the case of the EV battery plant, that falls outside the scope of the federal government’s jurisdiction.
