The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is expressing its support for Cargill Limited's request for a Minister's Zoning Order (MZO) to protect the long-term operation of its Sarnia grain terminal.
Cargill submitted its application in late 2025, asking for a prohibition on sensitive land uses - including residential, hospital or daycares - within 300 metres of the Exmouth Street facility.
In a letter to Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack, OFA President Drew Spoelstra called the terminal "a critical component of Ontario’s agri-food network and export infrastructure."
"As one of only a limited number of export grain terminals in southern Ontario, the facility plays a critical role in supporting Ontario farmers, food production, global trade and agricultural supply chain resilience," said Spoelstra. "The terminal handles approximately 35 per cent of Ontario’s export grain capacity and supports the movement of millions of tonnes of wheat, soybeans, and corn annually, while also receiving fertilizer inputs essential to agricultural production across nearly 400,000 acres of farmland in southwestern Ontario."
Spoelstra said the infrastructure is a strategically significant provincial asset that connects farm production to domestic processors and export markets, as well as livestock feed operations, marine transportation and rail networks critical to the sector.
"Continued, reliable operation of facilities such as the Cargill terminal ensures that Ontario farm products efficiently reach consumers and international markets while maintaining the competitiveness and viability of Ontario’s agricultural sector," he said.
"As identified in similar land use compatibility concerns involving the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto, incompatible residential encroachment near critical agri-food infrastructure creates significant operational risks and long-term uncertainty," Spoelstra said. "Supporters of the Ontario Food Terminal MZO correctly recognized that introducing sensitive land uses adjacent to essential food distribution infrastructure can lead to complaints related to noise, traffic, odour, dust, and around the-clock logistics activity, ultimately threatening the continued successful operation of those facilities."
Spoelstra said the same concerns are "directly applicable in Sarnia."
"Cargill has advised that residential development near the terminal is highly likely to result in increased complaints and regulatory pressures relating to its grain handling operations, truck traffic, and dust emissions - despite substantial investments they have made in mitigation measures and operational improvements," he said. "As experienced elsewhere in Ontario, including the closure of industrial agricultural operations impacted by urban encroachment, these land-use conflicts can eventually compromise the viability of strategically important facilities."
Spoelstra said protecting the terminal through appropriate land-use planning measures is necessary to preserve the integrity of Ontario’s agri-food supply chain and to avoid foreseeable conflicts between sensitive residential uses and commercial industrial agricultural operations.
He encourages Minister Flack to support the requested MZO.
You can read the OFA's full letter here.
Despite the application, official plan and zoning bylaw amendments for Tricar's proposed 14-storey high-rise on Harbour Road were approved by Sarnia council on Monday.
A proposed residential development on Exmouth Street is in limbo as stakeholders wait to hear the outcome of Cargill's MZO application.
Support for Cargill has also been expressed by multiple groups and municipalities including the County of Lambton Agricultural Advisory Committee, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, Lambton Federation of Agriculture, St. Clair Township, Town of Plympton-Wyoming, and the Township of Enniskillen.
