Fields not Fences: Stop the Proposed Prison on Kemptville Farmland

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to transfer the former Kemptville College farm property to the Ministry of the Solicitor general for a new “Eastern Ontario Correctional Complex.”

The 182-acre Kemptville College Farm property includes productive prime agricultural land with class 2 and 3 soils. This land has a century-long history of farming, education and agritourism, and has served as an agricultural hub for the Eastern Ontario farming community.

The Coalition Against the Proposed Prison (CAPP) and the Jail Opposition Group (JOG) have mounted a public campaign and initiated a judicial review to stop the Ontario Government from building a prison on this historic piece of farmland. 

CAPP and allies believe that a new prison is unnecessary, costly, and will not enhance community well-being and safety. They advocate a different vision for this land that promotes good will, a healthy future, and protects its natural and agricultural heritage. Instead of a prison, they ask, why not explore innovative opportunities that give this land back to the Algonquin peoples and/or that support local, sustainable food production? 

“The future of Eastern Ontario is in supporting sustainable agriculture, not prisons,” says Max Hansgen, an Ottawa-area farmer and NFU-O President. “Maintaining the former Kemptville College farm property as publicly-owned farmland is the way forward. It has the potential to be a practical example of local food production, a means to address food insecurity, and proof that the Ontario government cares about sustainability and the protection of arable land in a time of climate crisis.”

Click here to donate, support, and/or participate in the campaign to save Kemptville farmland from a proposed prison.