The Guelph Mercury reports, “(Guelph) city officials…want the province to scrutinize a proposal for a massive quarry in Dufferin County. Members of the planning and building, engineering and environment committee voted unanimously Monday to ask the province to subject the proposal to an examination under the Environmental Assessment Act. City resident Karen Balcom, who has been vocal in her concerns about the proposed 2,300-acre open pit mine in Melancthon Township, asked officials to put some pressure on the province.”
“Last week, Wellington-Halton Hills (Conservative MP Michael Chong) spoke out against the quarry proposal in the House of Commons, calling for a federal review of the application and suggesting it could be ‘an environmental disaster in the making’.” More on that at http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=8276. The Orangeville Citizen has also reported that, “(Conservative) MP David Tilson has called for (a) federal (environmental assessment) on the basis, among other things, that fisheries might be affected by the proposed quarry.”
“A staff report presented to the committee this week makes clear the proposed operation falls outside the Speed River subwatershed ‘and is not considered to be a concern with respect to either the quality or sustainability of Guelph’s water supply.’ However, the staff report suggests ‘thorough reviews’ of the proposal by regulatory agencies and affected municipalities ‘to ensure that adverse impacts on municipal water supply systems and on the environment are eliminated or minimized.'”
The newspaper has previously reported that, “Michael Daniher, a spokesperson for The Highland Companies, (the company seeking the quarry)…said further reviews and assessments ‘would simply duplicate rather than add to the information available.’”
Ways to support the campaign against the Melancthon quarry this summer:
JULY 3 PAINT-IN: “Organizer Donna Tranquada said invitations have already gone out to artists in the region to register for this event, which will be held at Peace Valley Ranch in Mulmur. Participants will paint the beautiful landscape that’s under threat. The public and media are welcome, and bus tours are planned to the proposed site throughout the day. The Canada Day weekend event is to run 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the ranch at 638135 Prince of Wales Road, south of Dufferin County Road. 21. The pre-registration cost is $30 each to a maximum of 30 artists.” More on this at http://stopthemelancthonquarry.ca/2011/06/plein-air-paint-in/.
JULY 7 GOLF TOURNAMENT: The golf tournament will take place at the Shelburne Golf Club, which is located at 516423 County Road 124. Registration takes place at 9 am with tee-off at 10:30 am. The cost per golfer is $150, or $55 for just the dinner and silent auction. More on this at http://www.ndact.com/NDACT/2011_Golf_Tournament.html.
JULY 21 RALLY: A rally is being organized against the quarry on July 21 at 12 pm outside the Ontario Ministry of Environment office at 77 Wellesley Street West in Toronto.
JULY 22 CONCERT: The ‘Concert at Lyric Pond’ fundraiser against the quarry starts at 6 pm near Honeywood, Ontario. Performers include Jim Cuddy, Barney Bentall, Bazil Donovan, Anne Lindsay, Colin Cripps, and Andy Maize. Tickets are $50 (5-10 years of age), $100 (11-17 years), and $200 (18 and over). To get your ticket, e-mail norm@informationpackaging.ca. More on this fundraiser at http://ja-jp.facebook.com/event.php?eid=191695817544114&ref=nf.
For blogs on the campaign to stop the Melancthon quarry, please go to http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?s=melancthon.
