2 MPPs have proposed an Ontario foodbelt. Could it help tariff-proof the ag sector? [Video]

Two MPPs have put forward the idea of creating a “foodbelt” in Ontario to protect farmland and help tariff-proof the agricultural sector in the province.

The idea proposed by Guelph MPP and Green Party of Ontario Leader Mike Schreiner and independent MPP Bobbi Ann Brady, who represents Haldimand-Norfolk, this week at Queen’s Park would see a protected area, similar to how the Greenbelt works, but in this case it would be specifically for farmers’ fields. Bill 21, Protect Our Food Act, passed first reading on Tuesday.

It’s an idea Erin Shapero and Valerie Burke applaud. The two women proposed a similar idea in 2009 when they were city councillors in Markham and they wanted to protect farmland from developers.

“At the time we had Ontario’s Greenbelt, which was very popular and very successful, protecting a lot of farmland, protecting a lot of naturally sensitive areas, but a lot of farmland …