Good afternoon, committee members. Thank you for hearing me this afternoon.
As treasurer of the not-for-profit group, Land Over Landings, I'm requesting financial support for our agricultural economic study of the remaining Pickering federal lands northeast of Toronto. Our study is expected to cost between $75,000 and $100,000. Over half of this publicly owned site is now protected within the Rouge National Urban Park, but the rest—more than 9,000 acres of mostly farm land—still risks development. Our study aims to show the full economic potential of the site, if reserved for agriculture, agribusiness, and research and innovation into farming matters.
Agriculture researchers and farmers desperately need land on which to study climate change mitigation and adaptation. The study will also analyze the potential economic impact of tourism that could be generated on the land with a large national urban park right beside it. Our study supports a transformative vision for the federal lands, one that would offer many varied, long-term employment opportunities and trigger the economic and social rebirth of a long-depressed area. We believe that we can create jobs immediately.
Thank you very much.