Amazon's largest warehouse under construction in Ontario
Amazon said it's newest and largest fulfillment center, which is taking shape in Ontario, will bring in thousands of jobs to the region, but not everyone thinks the area needs another giant warehouse.
The new five story center is directly across from its existing warehouse and once completed will total 4 million square feet, making it the company's biggest warehouse in the world.
Amazon said by the time the warehouse is complete in 2024, it will offer 1,500 new jobs, with the company adding that it's created more than 40,000 jobs in the region.
Not everyone is happy about another warehouse in the area, though.
For the last 34 years, Randy Bekendam has been operating Amy's Farm, which is steps from the new Amazon warehouse. Aside from the added congestion and air pollution, the lifelong farmer said building on such rich soil is a waste of valuable resources.
"Let's find soil that's not really good for anything else and preserve the prime farmland," Bekendam said.
He and his team give tours of the farm to the public, educating them about several varieties of organic plants that can grow on the local soil.
"This prime farmland can all be converted to regenerative farming, like we do and provide food security for the city of Ontario," Bekendam told CBSLA.
For years, he and members of different environmental groups have collected signatures to protest more warehouses in the area. In their most recent effort, they collected 2,000, which was short the 10,000 needed for the referendum.
"It's impossible to get that many," Bekendam said.
While the plan with Amazon moves forward, Bekendam said he's hoping it will be the last.
"The hope is that Ontario will rethink it's land use-use policy, make space to preserve farmland, as well as development that we actually need and more warehouses is not one of them.
