TOWNSEND—Earlier this month, Haldimand Norfolk MPP Bobbi Ann Brady stood during question period at Queen’s Park and asked Minister of Infrastructure (MOI) Kinga Surma what the government is planning to do with the 567 hectares of land they own in the Townsend area.
As previously reported, Brady asked why MOI had transferred the lands to the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation (MOIAFNER) and what their designation of “social purposes” was for potential uses.
The Press reached out to MOI for clarification on who owns the lands and their plans for them.
MOI replied, “The provincially-owned Townsend lands consist of 26 individual parcels of various sizes, shapes, and acreage. The total acreage is approximately 1,409 acres or about 570 hectares.
Infrastructure Ontario (IO) manages these lands on behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure. The province has not disposed of any of the Townsend lands in recent years. If a property is required for provincial use, ownership is retained. The properties have not been declared surplus to provincial requirements.”
The Press asked about any lands being transferred to MOIAFNER and were told, “No land has been transferred to MOIAFNER.”
On where she heard of this transfer, Brady said that her office has been working on procuring information about Townsend and an IO staffer told her office, “There are some things going on, but they should be ironed out in the next few days and we’ll be able to tell you.”
Brady said after a follow up they were told “the lands have been transferred to Indigenous Affairs and Economic Reconciliation…. My gut feeling is perhaps somebody went ‘wait a minute why did we say that’, so then we get a call, ‘well the land hasn’t been transferred. Infrastructure Ontario still owns them, but they are being held by Indigenous Affairs and Economic Reconciliation’…. I want to know why.”
The main question lingering in Brady’s mind is how those lands will eventually be used.
“That’s what I’m trying to uncover. If they have put them in trust of MOIAFNER, why have they done that and why have they done that under the cloak of darkness, which it seems they have,” said Brady. “Nobody wants to clarify this.”
The Press asked Brady if her interest in Townsend relates to it as an alternative location for Empire Communities’ proposed Nanticoke development – a suggestion raised many times by opponents of Empire’s plans despite Townsend previously failing as a major development site in the 70s.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen. One, Empire Homes doesn’t want it, also I’m very cognizant of the fact that there are people in Townsend who are saying ‘please don’t dump thousands and thousands of people on us in Townsend either, because we enjoy our rural life’, but I do think the people of Townsend deserve to know what is being looked at for those 567 hectares,” said Brady.
She stated a “sneaking suspicion that there was some activity on some of those lands” prompted her to start “poking around.”
Brady noted of Minister Surma’s response during the question period on potential ‘social purposes’ – such as long-term care homes or schools – gave no specific plan for the lands.
“She was just speaking in generalities,” said Brady. “With no disrespect to the minister, she was kind of stabbing at the dark.”
Brady noted that Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford was absent from the meeting due to medical reasons, and therefore could not offer any clarifications.
Surma noted that she would happily sit down with Brady to discuss the issue, which Brady’s office is currently organizing with a request for MOIAFNER to “also be at that table.”
The Press reached out to MOIAFNER for comment, but did not hear back ahead of publication.
