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“This is worth defending” – Community gathers in support of “Swan Lake”

September 25, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Residents and community members gathered at Belain Farms in Belfountain for a “community engagement event” regarding “Swan Lake.”

The issue of “Swan Lake,” has been topical in Caledon for months, beginning with a motion tabled by Mayor Annette Groves in May.

The motion would authorize a grading agreement allowing fill to be brought in to rehabilitate an aggregate pit at 0 Shaw’s Creek Road, now affectionately known as “Swan Lake” by the community.

The community has been advocating for “Swan Lake” for months and its “rehabilitated ecosystem.”

During the event, attendees could take a tour on the neighbouring property to the site and see for themselves.

Anna de Langley, owner-operator of Belain Farm, opened her farm to the community for the event. She shared that they have several concerns regarding the motion.

“We’re very concerned primarily about the water, the lack thereof if they drain it, because it could affect our water table, plus whatever fill they end up putting in, we could have polluted water,” shared de Langley.

She has 40 acres worth of crops and “woods that are home to many animals.”

Another issue, she raises, is the truck traffic this operation would bring.

“We’ve been living here now with it [Swan Lake] rehabilitated,” said de Langley. “We’ve been witness to so much wildlife moving into that lake now. All the turtles, and I see all the swans, and their cygnets and the geese, it’s an active ecosystem.”

de Langley shared she first heard of the motion through a neighbour.

“When I first initially heard, it was super upsetting and scary because Caledon has just changed so much in the 17 years we’ve been here,” she says. “We wanted to thank everybody for all the hard work and effort and put some faces to all the names. Also, as a thank you, and to provide people with a call to action and get a copacetic plan together for our next steps.”

“Sometimes it takes a cause to bring everybody together again and realize that this is worth defending.”

Various speakers spoke not only about the next steps, but also about what the issue at hand meant to them.

Erica McNiece with Democracy Caledon shared that standing there, on Belain Farms, she was “reminded of how beautiful every corner of Caledon is – the rolling farmland, the forests, the water, and the habitats that make our community unlike any other.”

“Swan Lake was a place that was once scarred by industry, but it healed into a thriving ecosystem, and it’s now under threat,” said McNiece. “After years of natural recovery, it’s become a haven for critical and threatened wildlife, a living reminder that even the deepest wounds on our land can heal. And yet the town of Caledon has set it on a path to be filled with truckloads of imported construction waste.”

McNiece shared decisions had been “rushed” and left neighbours “in the dark.”

“Let’s stand together for Swan Lake, stand together for Caledon. Let’s put our arms around this community and remind each other that we will not be silenced, we will not be ignored, and we will not allow Swan Lake or Caledon to be destroyed under the weight of poor governance. Together we can defend Swan Lake, together we can defend democracy in Caledon.”

Resident Debbe Crandall said supporters were “standing on the shoulders of legacy” regarding the Greenbelt Plan, the Niagara Escarpment Plan, and the Oak Ridges Moraine.

Keirstyn Parfitt addressed the crowd that night, saying, “If I’ve learned anything this summer, it is that this group of people will not be worn down, will not be giving up.”

“If you look around you right now, you are standing next to somebody who spent days, weeks, in some cases months, working on this. People have put everything into this,” said Parfitt.

Councillors, both present and past, also attended the community event.

Councillor Lynn Kiernan for Ward 1 said there was never any question of her supporting the event.

“I have such great respect for this community,” said Councillor Kiernan. “I’m here because what is being attempted is wrong, and I’m here to support democracy; the people have spoken out against this. I agree that it’s wrong, so we need to make sure this doesn’t happen.”

“I’m here tonight supporting the many residents that are working so hard to advocate against the filling of a beautiful lake that they dubbed Swan Lake,” said Regional Councillor Christina Early.

Also serving on the Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) Board, Councillor Early shared that she is pleased the CVC is working to purchase the property.

This would expand the nearby Pinchin Pit Conservation Area, which they currently own and manage.

“We want to see this as a tremendous conservation area, and the lake would just be a beautiful part of Pinchin Pit and the conservation area for many people to enjoy for many years to come,” says Councillor Early.

Caledon’s Peel District School Board trustee, Stan Cameron, attended the event as a resident of Caledon for over 50 years.

He shared that as a resident, he has had the privilege of learning about farming, the use of the land, and the respect for it.

On the other hand, he shared, he reflects on the lessons they are teaching students in the current curriculum surrounding the ideas of “learning how to respect the land, to honor the land, to use the land for good, to try to help other people.”

“What is happening here with Swan Lake is a motion on the floor of the Town that has me reacting as both a resident of this Town and as somebody who helps to teach children to not do that to our land,” said Cameron.

Donna Lewis, a board member of Trumpeter Swan Conservation Ontario, attended the event to “to educate about the swans that they keep seeing in Swan Lake, and to let people know that there’s an organization that is trying to help to make sure that there’s a continuing existence of trumpeter swans in Ontario for generations to come.”

“Swan Lake” is home to a plethora of wildlife, including trumpeter swans.

Lewis shared that many people are unaware that swans were reintroduced after being hunted in the fur trade.

“Water is very important to swans, wetlands even more so. And with the event here, trying to protect a very large natural area now, even though it was developed,” said Lewis. “Our wetlands were destroyed. We try to keep some. We do all kinds of things to make sure that we don’t have to buy our water, but that won’t happen if we keep doing silly things.”

“The swans are here speaking for wetlands,” said Lewis.

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