Maude Barlow will be speaking at the ‘Downstream, Downtown’ public forum on the proposed Melancthon quarry on Wednesday September 21 at the Patagonia Toronto store (500 King Street West, near Spadina Avenue) from 6:30 pm to 8 pm. The event is free, but you need to call 416-861-1102 to reserve your space.
Their website notes, “Join us at Patagonia Toronto for a presentation on this important issue with special guest, Maude Barlow… Bruce Davidson, spokesperson for Concerned Walkerton Citizens, will also speak, and we will feature a short video by Jason van Bruggen about the waters at risk in Dufferin County.”
“Stop the Mega Quarry has been rallying to prevent the proposed Melancthon Mega Quarry from becoming a reality. If developed, the quarry would be the second largest pit mine in North America. Situated on 8,000 acres of prime agricultural land between Orangeville and Collingwood, it would adversely affect the landscape and neighboring communities, and could pose a serious threat to fresh water resources for a million people.”
This past July, Barlow said, “Between the shocking indifference shown by the provincial government and the pure greed of the American billionaires that bought up the farmland, this will be an uphill battle. But there will be a provincial election in October and we have tens of thousands of members in Ontario, and they love to vote.” By September 1, the provincial Liberal government reluctantly agreed to conduct an environmental assessment on the proposed quarry (but not to quashing it as we had demanded). On September 16, Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak stated , “I actually think a better way to approach this is this company should go back to the drawing board, respond to the local concerns.” Previously, the Progressive Conservative MPP representing the riding where the quarry would be constructed had failed to even back an environmental assessment.
For campaign blogs on the Melancthon quarry, please go to http://canadians.org/blog/?s=%22melancthon+quarry%22.
