Rally sends message that no farms means no food

By Kirk Starratt

kstarratt@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

Dozens of protestors rallied in Kentville Tuesday evening for one reason: to let the County of Kings and the province know that food security is of the utmost importance to our future wellbeing and no farms means no food.

The protestors, organized as the Concerned Citizens of Kings County, gathered in the large parking lot behind the Municipal Complex in Kentville before parading around town.

They gathered in front of the complex prior to 6 p.m., when the regular monthly meeting of Kings County council was to begin.

Council voted Tuesday evening on whether or not to add a large piece of agricultural land in Port Williams to the growth centre for residential development and voted on whether or not to allow residential development on 385 lots under 4.5 acres as part of the agricultural review that has been underway for the past few years. As pointed out by rally organizers, these lots would be in addition to the 892 existing building lots in the agricultural district grandfathered in 1994.

Those attending the rally brought local produce to contribute to local food banks, as August is a difficult time for many families in need of extra money for school supplies.

Organizer Linda Best said county council has tried to protect farmland through the Municipal Planning Strategy and there have been many complaints about the fact that the county has been left to do this on their own. The concerned citizens want the province to step in to help support farmers and help ensure food security.

Ongoing effort

“The rally is to support the ongoing effort to ensure we have food for our future,” Best said. “I’m really concerned about what will happen tonight.”

Best said they have received word from Kings South MLA Natural Resources Minister David Morse and Kings North MLA Environment Minister and Minister of Labour and Workforce Development Mark Parent that the province is coming to the table to discuss the issues.

She said she has heard personally from Morse that the province has agreed to set up a provincial agricultural review and this will likely get underway sometime over the course of the next year. The concerned citizens feel that if the province says they’re on board to look at food security through avenues such as farmland preservation, support for farmers and “buy local” policies, it would be like kicking sand in their faces for county council not to defer decisions on farmland at this point.

“This gives us the opportunity to all work together,” Best said, pointing out that conservation easements, land banks, programs for new and retiring farmers and better local food purchasing by grocery stores would all help address food security concerns.

Unlike a rally held last August in support of farmland preservation in Weston, there were no tractors on hand this time because, as Best pointed out, the concerned citizens didn’t want to waste fuel. The rally was purely “people power”.