Aggregate and Agriculture: Cultivating Neighbourly Relations, Stories from Across Ontario

Aggregate extraction and agriculture are prominent land uses in rural southern Ontario, and both industries are vital contributors to the provincial economy. However, these industries compete for the same land base and their operations have the potential to negatively impact the other. There is currently little research into this relationship, particularly at the site or neighbour scale. This project, in its third year, is designed to address this gap and to provide best management practices to both agricultural and aggregate operators, as well as local and provincial governments, about how these industries can better work together. While research has been conducted regarding the social impacts of aggregate extraction on rural residents, little is known regarding the social, economic, environmental and land use impacts on farms operating in close proximity to aggregate extraction activity. The aggregate industry is widely believed to cause a variety of undesirable impacts, including noise, dust, road traffic, extended hours of operation, as well as a loss of water quantity and quality. The development of best management practices is important to help mitigate these potential impacts, both at the local level and for rural communities at large. This presentation provides a summary of research to date as well a preliminary analysis of more than 150 farm surveys collected over the last year. Next steps include further consultation with aggregate operators and more in-depth interviews with key informants from both industries.

Municipal Capacity: A Greenbelt Focus

This session will reflect on the importance of rural and agri-food communities and provide key insights on the capacity of municipal governments to support the agriculture and agri-food sector and respond to rural issues. In Ontario, where the most agriculturally-viable land in Canada is located, municipalities are the most local level of government and are responsible for implementing provincial and federal policies and directives. However, little is known about the structure, knowledge base, and capacity of municipal governments to respond to agricultural and agri-food priorities and issues. A review of existing literature and municipal websites reveals that municipal planning departments are extremely varied and inconsistently staffed. This appears to be the surface of a much larger inconsistency related to financial resources, staff expertise, and council’s knowledge about agriculture and agri-food. Our team has completed the research related to this project and the findings of this study are informed by data collected via survey and semi-structured interviews from 66 municipalities in the Greenbelt. Findings indicate that there is an increasing knowledge gap related to agricultural planning and agri-food issues, and that fewer elected officials/planners have agricultural backgrounds, expertise, or training. This presents a threat to rural and agri-food communities as their livelihoods depend on the ability of council (and staff) to understand critical issues, protect farmland, and make agriculturally-supportive decisions. Agri-food communities are important and it is critical that our governance systems not only recognise that but also have the capacity to support, protect, and respond to the agri-food sector.

Understanding Local Water Collaboration for the Potential to Enhance Community Source Water Protection at Chippewas of the Thames First Nation

First Nations in Canada are disproportionately affected by chronic drinking water insecurity (Bakker, 2012). Aboriginal Affair and Northern Development Canada conducted an assessment of First Nations water and wastewater systems in 2001 and found significant risk to the quality and safety of drinking water on three- quarters of all systems (Johns and Rasmussen, 2008). Neegan Burnside (2011) classified four differentrisks that affect drinking water systems for First Nations, which include, no source water protection plan,deterioration of water quality over time, risk of contamination, and insufficient capacity to meet futurerequirements. This study found that the two highest risks were risk of source water contamination and thelack of a community source water protection plan (Neegan Burnside, 2011). Water security, sustainableaccess on a watershed basis to adequate quantities of water of acceptable quality to ensure human andecosystem health (Bakker, 2012), therefore requires source water protection and collaboration amongwater actors. Collaboration is defined as the pooling of resources by multiple stakeholders to solveproblems, which includes a balance of power among actors, mutually agreed upon objectives, is perceived as legitimate, and includes a wide variety of stakeholders (Ashlie, 2019; Van Der Porten, 2013; Spencer etal., 2016; Black & McBean, 2017).

Assessing Land Use Planning Tools to Mitigate Odour and Lighting Nuisance Related to Cannabis Production

Cannabis production has expanded significantly across southern Ontario with the legalisation of theindustry. Much of this expansion has occurred within the rural countryside, through the utilisation of existinggreenhouse infrastructure. While the growth of this sector provides economic benefits to rural communities, complaints from adjacent residents related to lighting and odour issues are common and mitigation of such issues is complex. Land use planning policies have been established across southern Ontario to manage the development of cannabis greenhouses; however, policies vary by region and countyand the appropriateness of these policies have not been tested. This study seeks to analyse municipalplanning policies that regulate cannabis production and understand the impacts of these policies on sector,adjacent land owners and rural communities. Planning policies will be analysed at the municipal, regional orcounty level, with the creation of a database to highlight consistency and differences between communities. Case studies will be utilised to gain better insights into the challenges and opportunities related to cannabis production and planning mitigation. This presentation will provide a summary of current research findings, including highlights of a municipal scan of zoning by-law policies and informalinsights into policy appeals in southern Ontario.

Disruptive Technologies in the Agri-food Sector: A Knowledge Synthesis

The agri-food sector in Canada is entering an “age of disruption” where the rapid expansion of technology, like IoT, genetic advancements, and robotics, has potential to fundamentally reshape the futureof work and the development of rural communities across Canada. This presentation reports on the firstphase of a multi- phased project that assesses the impacts of disruptive technologies in the agri-food sector, including the scope of technologies that could disrupt traditional production practices and the future of work. An overview of the project and the findings from our initial research and knowledgesynthesis is presented along with the planned future phases and next steps. Using technology assessment,key informant interviews and comparative case studies, this research aims to identify disruptive technologies and companies, assess their social and spatial implications, and explore how regional stakeholders are responding to these impacts. This research aims to assist local and provincial policymakers in designing and assessing new policies and programs to respond to the impacts of disruptive technologies in the agri-food sector.

Understanding Local Water Collaboration for the Potential to Enhance Community Source Water Protection at Chippewas of the Thames First Name

First Nations in Canada are disproportionately affected by chronic drinking water insecurity (Bakker, 2012). Aboriginal Affair and Northern Development Canada conducted an assessment of First Nations water and wastewater systems in 2001 and found significant risk to the quality and safety of drinking water on three- quarters of all systems (Johns and Rasmussen, 2008). Neegan Burnside (2011) classified four differentrisks that affect drinking water systems for First Nations, which include, no source water protection plan,deterioration of water quality over time, risk of contamination, and insufficient capacity to meet futurerequirements. This study found that the two highest risks were risk of source water contamination and thelack of a community source water protection plan (Neegan Burnside, 2011). Water security, sustainableaccess on a watershed basis to adequate quantities of water of acceptable quality to ensure human andecosystem health (Bakker, 2012), therefore requires source water protection and collaboration amongwater actors. Collaboration is defined as the pooling of resources by multiple stakeholders to solveproblems, which includes a balance of power among actors, mutually agreed upon objectives, is perceived as legitimate, and includes a wide variety of stakeholders (Ashlie, 2019; Van Der Porten, 2013; Spencer etal., 2016; Black & McBean, 2017).

The Transformation of Soil Advisory Services in Ontario

The past several decades has witnessed a marked transformation of Ontario’s agricultural extension services from being a provincial government run service to one that’s is marked by a diverse network of public and private information service providers. This presentation reports a preliminary analysis of the contemporarysoil advisory services, especially looking at how different actors are organised, methods used and emerging challenges. The data were collected using key informant interviews with a purposively selectedadvisor. The findings highlight a variety of service providers at play within the soil advisory services which comprised of numerous commodity marketing boards, producer organisations, input and equipmentsuppliers, OMAFRA and the University of Guelph. These actors are organised through various formal andinformal networks, although respondents expressed their concerns on coordination and communication within the network, with an attendant negative impact on network efficiency in advisory service provision. Although most respondents yearn for an individual approach, mainly represented by the public sector, the current service delivery is dominated by groups and mass methods. The findings also indicate a move fromadvisory roles as generalist knowledge brokers to specialist knowledge brokers. The advisory service isgoverned by a ‘hands off’ approach because of withdrawal of public service support that creates significant gaps for coordination and collaboration among different players. The gaps need to be filled in—eitherchampioned by public or private sector actors—but it is not possible without significant changes in existingpolicy and public supports.

The Impacts of On-farm Diversification to the Family Farm and the Intersection of Land Preservation through Public Planning in Ontario

Have you ever wondered what prompts Ontario family farmers to diversify, what land use planning policies allow for alternative uses on farms and how Ontario can continue to preserve agricultural lands as family farming continues to change? This primary research objective is to understand how on-farmdiversification impacts the family farm and what the intersection of on-farm diversification and land preservation is through public planning policy in Ontario. The 2016 OMAFRA Guidelines on PermittedUses in Ontario’s Prime Agricultural Areas was/is the first tool that provides family farmingentrepreneurs and municipal government planners opportunities to create on-farm diversified uses whilebalancing agricultural land preservation. This research will: Endeavour to explore which rural municipalities are using this tool efficiently andeffectively; Discover if the Guidelines are assisting entrepreneurs and identifying bestpractices; Identify if it is only prime agricultural lands that warrant these Guidelines for landpreservation; Acknowledge if the Guidelines are preserving prime agricultural lands; and Propose changes to the Ontario planning policy framework regarding on-farm diversification andland preservation. Overall, it is simply not enough to preserve agriculture land in Ontario, we must also preserve the family farmer Keywords: on-farm diversification; land preservation; family farm; Ontario planning policy

2021 Rural Symposium Program

The 2021 Rural Symposium Program provides an overview all presentations shared at the event. The program provides a brief abstract for each presentation.

Contextualizing Mine-Community Relations in Treaty No. 9 Territory

This paper presents a rigorous literature review identifying and critically examining the characteristics of decision-making processes in the mining sector that empower or disempower Indigenous communities in north-eastern Ontario, specifically Treaty no. 9 territory. The conclusions drawn from this review aim to inform future research throughout my doctoral program and other researchers and practitioners within the mining sector. The Ring of Fire is a controversial but lucrative mineral cache in north-eastern Ontario worth an estimated $60 billion that may position nearby rural and remote communities for economic growth. However, critics caution that proposed mineral exploration and extraction in the region may threaten the sustainability of First Nations communities. Fifty secondary sources, academic and grey literature produced by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous authors, were reviewed and I propose three “myths” surrounding relations between the mining sector and Indigenous communities in Ontario. I position the synthesis of literature in response to these myths to provide insight into false assumptions that may form the basis of community-mine relations. First, critical examination of the signing of Treaty 9 in the early twentieth century shows that Indigenous communities in northern Ontario did not unilaterally cede and surrender title rights to their traditional territories. Second, the literature falsifies the notion that Indigenous communities are inherently anti-development and show that Indigenous communities do not always unilaterally refute opportunities for resource development. Third, the literature debunks the idea that the duty to consult and accommodate is always triggered before proponents infringe on Indigenous and treaty rights on traditional territory. The duty to consult and accommodate, triggered by the fiduciary duty of the Crown to protect aboriginal and treaty rights outlined in the Constitution Act of 1982, attempts to address the exclusion of Indigenous perspectives in decision-making processes within the mining sector. However, current consultation standards do not ensure an “effective” or “meaningful” decision-making process. Narrowing in on some false assumptions surrounding relations built between mining operations and Indigenous communities, this rigorous literature review can support researchers and practitioners working with Indigenous communities in the mining sector to generate novel approaches to community-mine relations in the future.