Farmers in Ontario are rallying to fight a government bill that would loosen the rules around farmland protection in the province, a move farmers say would result in more homes being built on prime agricultural land and could also threaten the very fabric of rural life.
Bill 97 — or the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act — is aimed at drastically reshaping development rules to address housing affordability and supply in the province.
Among the proposed changes is an overhaul to residential development in rural areas, which would give municipalities the ability to split large farms into smaller lots to make it easier to build homes.
Farmers argue those
