Bobbi Ann Brady, Ontario’s only Independent MPP, says protecting Ontario’s best farmland must rise above party politics, as she continues a provincewide tour with Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner to build support for their joint Foodbelt legislation, Bill 21.
Brady says the partnership began shortly after she arrived at Queen’s Park in 2022, when she stood in the Legislature calling for stronger protection of Ontario’s most productive soils.
That moment sparked the unusual cross-party alliance that now sees two MPPs traveling municipality to municipality with a single goal: building a nonpartisan coalition to safeguard the land that feeds Ontario.
Bill 21, the Protect Our Food Act, proposes the creation of a “food belt,” modeled after the Greenbelt but focused specifically on high-quality agricultural land across the province.
Brady and Schreiner say that with the province losing hundreds of acres of farmland every day, municipalities should not be forced to choose between growth and food security.
Brady says one of the reasons the tour has been so well received is that the issue transcends party lines.
Residents appreciate seeing two politicians working together on a practical solution rather than fighting over
A key pillar of the legislation, Brady stresses, is that it must respect farmers as decision-makers.
The tour has also brought attention to major challenges facing the agri-food sector, including dependence on U.S. processing, vulnerability to tariffs, and the risk of losing prime land to speculative development.
Brady argues that Ontario must invest not only in farmland protection but in expanding its processing capacity so food grown in the province can also be processed here.
Municipal councils — regardless of political leanings — have been open to the message.
Brady says she and Schreiner will continue traveling anywhere they’re invited to present the bill and answer questions from local leaders and farmers.
Written by: Matt LeBlanc
