The Globe and Mail reports today that, “Groundwater beneath Ontario’s Tiny Township (120 kilometres north of Toronto) has been called the cleanest in the world, as pristine as if it were drawn from ancient ice buried deep in an Arctic glacier.”
“If all goes according to plan, some time this year trucks will begin dumping municipal trash into a provincially approved landfill atop the unspoiled water, which won its reputation as the cleanest in the world after testing at a German university in 2006 found that samples had some of the lowest levels of trace metals ever observed.”
“The province says the location of the dump is nothing to worry about, but Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner (Gordon Miller) is decrying the selection of the site. So are prominent conservationists, including Maude Barlow, the UN’s water adviser and head of the Council of Canadians, who calls the dump a ‘travesty.’ She has vowed to ‘sit in front of bulldozers if necessary’ to stop it. Federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May also wants the dump shelved. (Mr. Miller has asked the province to review its approval, but the request was ignored.)”
As noted on the Council of Canadians website, Maude Barlow says, “Water, in my opinion, is the single most important environmental and human-rights threat of our time, and while millions around the world are dying and going thirsty, Simcoe County is about to violate this unique and precious Canadian aquifer.”
On May 2, the Barrie Examiner reported that, “Residents will gather here Monday to walk or drive to the North Simcoe Landfill, formerly known as Site 41. Labelled ‘No Waste to Water’, the six-kilometre trek will go from the Elmvale springs to the landfill, led by Maude Barlow, chairwoman of the Council of Canadians and senior advisor on water issues to the United Nations. It begins at 3:30 p. m. in the parking lot at Our Lady of Lourdes Church at 106 Yonge St. (on Highway 27). Shuttles will return walkers following presentations. People can walk, bike or go by car, truck or tractor as well. Nonwalkers driving to the site should arrive at 4:45 p. m. and park on the road allowance. Participants are asked to fill their water bottles at the springs, and show their support for a citizen protest against North Simcoe Landfill, based on the environmental risks of locating a dump above a major, pristine aquifer, according to organizers.”
To read more about this issue and today’s march (with Maude and trade campaigner Stuart Trew) against Site 41, please go to http://canadians.org/water/issues/Site41/index.html.
To sign the ‘no water to waste’ petition, please go to the Stop Site #41 Facebook campaign at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?sid=f2f67c454b13df27ceb3ab864de577e2&gid=2343037814.
The Globe and Mail article can be read at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090504.WATER04ART2147/TPStory/Environment
The Barrie Examiner report can be read at http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1550017.
The Midland Free Press has also reported on this march at http://www.midlandfreepress.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1548490.