Farmers pressure Doug Ford government to reverse course on housing plan

Under pressure from farmers, Premier Doug Ford's government is considering backing off from proposals that would allow more housing to be built on Ontario's dwindling farmland, CBC News has learned.

Leaders of a range of farming and agricultural groups met with senior government officials last week to raise their concerns about proposed changes to provincial land-use policy that Ford and his ministers have said will spur new home construction. 

The contentious proposals are part of the government's overhaul of Ontario's land-use guidelines, floated last month by Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark. At the time, Clark called his plan "housing-focused" and said it would create more homes in both urban and rural communities.