The Delta Optimist reports that Stopthepave.org, the Council of Canadians and others are participating in the ‘Enough is Enough’ rally on Saturday June 16 at 1 pm at Magee Park in Ladner to “protest the industrialization of farmland and wildlife habitat in the area” and to “call on the federal and provincial governments to preserve the Fraser River delta”.
“Driven by Gateway and the South Fraser Perimeter Road, the industrialization of the Fraser delta has reached a tipping point, says the group.”
“Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington recently revealed that an industrial consortium is behind the optioning of 226 hectares (558 acres) of prime farmland for portrelated development. She held a public information meeting last week to explain details of that plan as well as the industrialization of South Delta on several fronts. She told the Optimist afterward, ‘We have a long road to go. We have to start looking at how we tackle this problem in a very strategic way. We have a fight on our hands that is really a difference in values and we have to let the powers understand that the values that are inherent in the agricultural lands and in the environment are significant. Meanwhile, everyone has to start participating in the attempt to save this part of the world.'”
On April 5, the Council of Canadians issued a media release that stated, “Citing land shortages for the gateway project the Emerson Real Estate Group has optioned 600 acres of agricultural land to develop for use as a rail and industrial area. The Council of Canadians joins with local residents to oppose the potential loss of agricultural land, the port expansion and a proposed free trade zone. …This exposure of multi-million dollar speculative option agreements comes just as the Council and allies prepare to launch a massive campaign to stop the industrialization of the Fraser Delta. …(Chapter activist Cathy Wilander says), ‘This is all part of a coordinated strategy to convert the last great reserve of arable land in the Lower Mainland into container storage yards, trucking depots and warehouses.’ …(Council of Canadians executive director Garry Neil adds), ‘The campaign by our local activists to stop the destruction of farmland and critical western flyway habitat around the Fraser delta will have the full support of the Council of Canadians…’”
The full Delta Optimist article can be read at http://www.delta-optimist.com/news/Ladner+rally+aims+preserve+Fraser+River+delta/6749898/story.html. You can read more about the June 16 protest at http://www.facebook.com/events/411385482205717/.
Related blogs
NEWS: Information meeting on Deltaport expansion, May 22, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=15124
NEWS: Concerns raised about loss of farmland for Deltaport expansion, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=14507
More at http://canadians.org/blog/?s=deltaport.
