Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise to present a petition from the great residents of Simcoe—Grey and, more specifically, Clearview Township. This will be the first of many petitions.
The Department of National Defence has purchased 700-plus acres of prime farmland overlapping the Minesing Wetlands to build a preliminary Arctic over-the-horizon radar system in Clearview Township. DND has now sent emails to many landowners surrounding it, and it wants an additional 2,600 acres of prime farmland to create this site.
The petitioning citizens of Canada call upon the Government of Canada to stop the building of any over-the-horizon site on the already purchased property, prevent future acquisitions of the prime farmland and building of any over-the-horizon site on the prime farmland in Clearview Township, and register the previously purchased property with the Ontario Farmland Trust to prepare its agricultural status.
People are concerned and worried; they do not want their land to be expropriated. Many of the townships in the area are supporting this.