The Ontario government is designating the Ontario Food Terminal a “provincially significant employment zone,” a move responding to calls from residents, MPPs and the City of Toronto to ensure the 40-acre terminal remains an “economic hub.”
“[This] means that the food terminal is protected as an economic hub and that the lands that it sits on cannot be converted to other uses other than employment without provincial approval,” said Steve Clark, minister of municipal affairs and housing, on Oct. 8, noting that Canadians rely on daily access to produce such as fruits and vegetables. “By ensuring the food terminal lands are protected as a provincially significant employment zone, we are working to ensure that the people of Ontario benefit from uninterrupted distribution of wholesale produce that they rely on for many many years to come.”
Clark praised Christine Hogarth, PC MPP for Etobicoke—Lakeshore, for her advocacy on the food terminal’s designation.
“If [Ontarians] grab some blueberries or a house plant from their local convenience store, it’s very likely those items first made their way through the Ontario Food Terminal,” she said, noting the importance of moving fresh produce to and from stores and farmers markets. “That is why we need to ensure that major food distribution hubs like the Ontario Food Terminal remain in tact and protected.”
Lands given this status often play a “strategic” role in economic development, could be at risk of “conversion for other uses like residential development,” are situated near major highways or transportation centres and provide a significant number of jobs or employment potential.
“We need to ensure that the terminal continues to be successful for the next 5, 10, even 50 years from now,” Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Ernie Hardeman said.
Located in South Etobicoke, the wholesale distribution site is the largest of its kind in Canada, seeing about 2.1 billion pounds of produce passing through the 40-acre terminal each year.
The Oct. 8 announcement comes after fears among business owners and workers surfaced earlier this year that the government might move or break up the terminal amid a review of the facility. But an announcement from Hardeman on July 8 that the food terminal would “stay in its current location” offered workers and residents who support the food hub some relief. Then a few weeks later, Clark stated his intent to designate the terminal a key “economic zone.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I want to thank my colleague <a href="https://twitter.com/CHogarthPC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CHogarthPC</a> for her advocacy in identifying the Ontario Food Terminal as a Provincially Significant Employment Zone (PSEZ). I&#39;ve sent a letter confirming my Ministry will designate the Terminal as a PSEZ as part of our current Phase 2 review. <a href="https://t.co/VplUzHeUkQ">pic.twitter.com/VplUzHeUkQ</a>
&mdash; Steve Clark (@SteveClarkPC) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveClarkPC/status/1153355820505227264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
NDP MPP Bhutila Karpoche proclaimed the food terminal’s designation as a “victory” for workers and farmers.
“This long-delayed decision will finally assure Food Terminal workers, farmers, independent grocers and restaurateurs who feared for their futures when the Ford government conspicuously excluded the Ontario Food Terminal lands from its initial list of Provincially Significant Employment Zones in January,” Karpoche said in a statement. “This is their victory.”
Karpoche introduced a private member’s bill in June, Bill 127, which aimed to have the food terminal labelled “a provincially significant employment zone, in recognition of the pivotal role the Ontario Food Terminal plays in the province’s agricultural and food network.” Following the July 8 announcement, Karpoche said, “If the minister and the [Doug] Ford government intends to keep the Ontario Food Terminal at this location, then they should have absolutely no problem supporting my bill.”
At the time, Gregg Lintern, chief planner and executive director with Toronto’s city planning division, applauded the government’s commitment to keep the terminal in its Etobicoke location and cited Toronto’s request to have the province recognize its economic importance.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Toronto City Council in February asked that the Ontario Food Terminal be recognized as a Provincially Significant Employment Zone in the Growth Plan - this announcement aligns with that request: Supporting Ontario Food Terminal&#39;s Long-Term Success <a href="https://t.co/TgvsXlSCTP">https://t.co/TgvsXlSCTP</a>
&mdash; Gregg Lintern (@GreggLintern) <a href="https://twitter.com/GreggLintern/status/1148255550142066688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Meanwhile, a group of Etobicoke residents supporting the terminal welcomed the Oct. 8 announcement via social media.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The provincially significant employment zone designation for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OntarioFoodTerminal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OntarioFoodTerminal</a> was formally announced! Thank you to the individuals, groups &amp; MPPs who helped spread the word and lobby the government on the importance of this zoning designation. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VictoryIsYours?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VictoryIsYours</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaveTheOFT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SaveTheOFT</a>
&mdash; Save The Ontario Food Terminal (@SaveTheOFT) <a href="https://twitter.com/SaveTheOFT/status/1181571764196970497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;

Ontario Food Terminal gets designated a ‘provincially significant employment zone’

Read this for free.