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I was dismayed to read in BradfordToday that BWG council, who voted twice to deny a permit to holding a large conference on “farm/agricultural” land in West Gwillimbury, is now open to letting (AMJ) Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at propose all kinds of solutions to problems that arose from holding their event. A councillor inferred that by denying them approval it was akin to censoring “religious beliefs” and illegal under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This is a ridiculous comment. We have laws in Canada and zoning policies for lands in Canada.
The Charter has nothing to do with zoning and the land regulations of Bradford. Holding a large event on agricultural land has absolutely nothing to do with religion. This has to do with zoning. This property has not been zoned as an event centre. According to AMJ’s own reporting, the 100-acre parcel is “prime agricultural land,” and was previously used to grow carrots, potatoes and soybeans. Up until recently, it was rented to a local farmer.
Is BWG council going to approve a yearly permit and set a precedent that every farm owner in BWG can hold “events” with 25,000 people on their land? Is it going to be open season in BWG and BWG zoning bylaws mean nothing? When does it stop? According to an article in BradfordToday on July 6, “The conference is usually held indoors at the International Centre in Mississauga, and this is the first year that the full-scale event has been held in Bradford following a pilot event in 2022.”
Yes, there are already existing event centres that are zoned and have the infrastructure to hold events as large as this, such as Burl's Creek, Toronto Convention Centre, etc. We do not need to hold events this large on agricultural land. AMJ bragged about how much money they spent in the area for this event. They stated they spent $100,000 at Sargeant Co., a company that supplies gravel and cement. Is that gravel and cement that was put on farmland for paths and supports for their cell towers going to be torn up each year or do they plan on farming their miraculous crop around it? It is very difficult to run farm equipment around cement and gravel.
My husband's family was one of the pioneer families who came to West Gwillimbury in 1822 and farmed in the area for almost 200 years. Our children continue to farm in the area.
For all those “non-farmers,” it took over three weeks or more in June to prepare the 100-acre parcel of agricultural land for the three-day event being held at the beginning of July by erecting enormous tents, portable toilets, etc., and another two weeks to take it all down. From AMJ’s own aerial photos of the conference, you can see the 100 acres was totally covered in structures and cars. What kind of crop can you grow when you are driving all over farmland for five weeks in the very middle of our growing season? There is no crop that I can think of.
It is interesting to note that the public has been very upset about Premier Doug Ford turning farmland into houses but obviously BWG council thinks it is OK to take a 100-acre farm permanently out of production for a three-day annual event, when there are clearly other options. I reference an article from July 16, 2022 in BradfordToday, with AMJ national president Lal khan Malik stating: “Although we bought this property primarily for using it as the venue for our annual conference, the biggest challenge has been zoning laws."
What AMJ bought was farmland; perhaps if their intent was to hold annual conferences, they should have done their research and bought land in a properly zoned area such as industrial. They can still do that. If council approves having a yearly conference of this size on a 100-acre farm they have forever set a precedent regarding how they feel about farmland in Bradford West Gwillimbury and its use. BWG is an agricultural area, councillors please consider the whole taxpaying community when you are making your comments and voting on issues such as this.
West Gwillimbury infrastructure, roads, cell phone service, etc. cannot handle the amount of traffic generated for a three-day annual event. Taxpayers who pay their taxes to Bradford West Gwillimbury are voting in a council to look after their interests.
Linda Roberts
Gilford
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