Calzavara at an anti-quarry protest in Melancthon last year.
The Sun News Network has reported, “The Dalton McGuinty government is excluding Dufferin County residents who will be most affected by a proposed mega-quarry from crucial hearings that (began on Monday in Toronto). The public presentations (will continue on) Wednesday and next Monday and Wednesday.”
“Highland Companies has proposed to dig the second largest quarry in North America, encompassing approximately 2400 acres, to extract gravel, limestone and sand, most of which would go toward building water mains, highways and buildings in the GTA. Environmentalists and the region’s residents have mobilized to oppose the company’s application. They say the mega-quarry will harm natural habitats, eradicate prime farmland and may adversely affect the drinking water for over a million Ontarians, but Highland refutes the claims.”
“On Friday (May 5), Stop The Quarry posted this message on Facebook: ‘We have JUST been given notice that the review of the Aggregate Resources Act is to start on Monday and will end on Thursday. Since the revision of this act is imperative to setting a new stage for aggregate extraction in this province it is imperative that we all stand up. Some time in the process has been allocated to public comment so PLEASE request an opportunity to speak before the committee and/or send an email voicing your concern.'”
Tonight on CBC Radio’s As It Happens they noted, “This week, hearings into that legislation began, but the farmers who prompted the review were not invited to testify. Moreover, the timing and location of the hearings — just six hours this week and next, in downtown Toronto — have made it difficult for those farmers to participate, even as members of the public. Dave Van Der Zaag is perhaps the farmer who stands to lose the most should the mega-quarry go ahead: his potato farm is near the proposed site, just north of Shelburne, Ontario. We reached Mr. Van Der Zaag earlier today near Grand Falls, New Brunswick.” To listen to that interview, go to http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/episode/2012/05/08/the-tuesday-edition-29/.
Council of Canadians
Ontario-Quebec organizer Mark Calzavara will be in Melancthon this Friday night and all day Saturday for strategic planning meetings with the community.
On March 7, Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow was in Barrie to speak against the Melancthon quarry. For more on that and an overview of our campaign against the proposed quarry – dating back to January 2010 – please go to http://canadians.org/blog/?p=13752. For all our campaign blogs on the Melancthon quarry, see http://canadians.org/blog/?s=%22melancthon+quarry%22.
For information on the hearings, visit http://ontla.on.ca/committee-proceedings/committee-hearings-notices/files_html/ARA%20English.htm.
