A number of councillors had questions about data missing in the 2026 Corporate Strategic Plan Progress Report presented at the March 26th Committee of the Whole meeting. 

The report tracks goals outlined in the County’s 2024 ten year plan.

Councillor Sam Branderhorst asked Sarah Viau, Director of Corporate and Legislative Services, directly how Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are tracked, particularly those concerning rural severances and the loss of farmland. 

The report tracked the number of rural severances and noted the number of new homes built in both rural and town areas, but did not have the numbers on lost farmland.

She said she has asked for transparency from staff since her Council term began.

“It’s been three years and I ask for the same KPI every year and the same KPI just does not get hit every single year and the wording changes every single year.

 “I just want to know, what’s complicated about it?

“I want us to track the number of severances on farm land in rural areas and have a running total of how much land has been lost,” she said. 

The report tracked the number of rural severances and noted the number of new homes built in both rural and town areas, but did  not have numbers on lost farmland. 

In 2025, severances created 8 new agricultural or rural lots, 6 shoreland lots, and one urban lot. 

At 14, the number of rural severances is down from its peak of 87 in 2021, but higher than the 3 in 2023. The report had no data on rural severances in 2024. 

Overall, over two-thirds of new builds in 2025 — 69 percent — were on rural land. While the report states the purpose of tracking this data is to protect farmland, it does not have any information on land use. 

“That is not what I have asked for two years to track and I’m getting a little frustrated,” stressed the councillor. 

“The point of this is to protect rural land and to hold those of us around the horseshoe accountable for future generations so that we know that every acre we sever, every piece of land we lose is important.”

Although details on the amount of farmland lost to severances were missing from the report, Councillor Branderhorst noted that Ms. Viau had presented numbers tracked by a student in the operational services department. 

She praised Ms. Viau’s efforts to collect this information, noting that previous staff members preferred to obscure it. 

For her part, Ms. Viau said it was not the report’s intention to conceal the data, but there was a misinterpretation of the type of information requested.

“I apologize for getting that wrong,” she said. “I thought we were tracking that metric.”

County spokesperson Mark Kerr confirmed that staff are reviewing farm severances since 2024 and their impact on farmland.

Councillor David Harrison suggested that because not all rural land is prime agricultural land, some rural lots might be better suited for residential development.

“Prime land is prime land, but a lot of this County is not prime land,” he said. “I’d like to see a breakdown of severances between RU zones and prime.”

Councillor Branderhorst agreed, noting that she would also like to see how severances broke down at the soil level.

“That would be an interesting narrative,” she said. 

With the report coming forward during an already crowded Committee of the Whole Agenda, Council carried a motion to adjourn discussion of the report until a later date and asked staff to note KPIs for agriculture, fire services, equity, and youth engagement.