Halton residents, politicians share the pitfalls of quarries, why they’re preventing expansions
Throughout the 2024 Milton by-election marketing campaign, Ontario premier Doug Ford mentioned, “I know the mayor doesn’t want it (Campbellville quarry) no one wants it, I don’t want it, we’re going to make sure it doesn’t happen, one way or another”.
Greater than 300 individuals from Milton, Burlington, Caledon and the encircling space gathered in Milton on Sat. Jan. 25, to remind the premier of his phrases.
Organizers, Reform Gravel Mining Coalition (RGMC), CORE Burlington and ACTION Milton held a rally at Nation Heritage Park to listen to speeches, take heed to musicians Sarah Harmer and Jim Cuddy carry out slightly music, and to remind Ford to maintain his promise to cease combination quarries in Campbellville (Reid Highway Reservoir) and Burlington (Mount Nemo).
It was standing room solely whereas mayors and residents from advised the group concerning the impacts gravel mining had on their communities and to share what their councils have been doing to help residents of their combat in opposition to gravel mining within the Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO world heritage website.
“I’m here because we’re here trying to fight the expansion of the Nelson quarry,” defined, Burlington mayor Marianne Meed Ward. “There are significant concerns about air quality, species at risk. We have a 60-day hearing coming up on March 4 (with the Ontario Land Tribunal OLT). We will be fighting with everything we’ve got, like we did the last time (2012 against Nelson Aggregates). It’s not good for the community. It’s not good for the environment and not good for the surrounding communities.”
Gord Krantz – the Milton mayor Ford had spoken to – mentioned, “I’m very supportive of what ACTION Milton is doing and as a regional councillor I’m aware of the impacts on places such as the Nelson quarry. I’ve gone on record as opposing the Campbellville quarry along with the majority of Milton council.”
A type of councillors on the time was Zee Hamid who went on to win the provincial by-election and who has mentioned each earlier than and after changing into the Milton MPP, that he was against the quarry.
Caledon mayor, Annette Groves famous that the City of Caledon (in Peel Area simply north of Milton) has 22 pits and quarries inside its borders. “I’m here to listen, to support the residents and get some information. It’s a concern for me and it affects the residents. It goes back to the days of the Rockfort quarry and the concerns that were expressed then are the same concerns we have today.”
Within the early 2000s James Dick Development, the identical firm that wishes to construct the Campbellville quarry, tried to transform 145 acres of land right into a quarry that, after over a decade of citizen motion, was denied by the OMB (forerunner of the OLT) in 2010.
BurlingtonToday spoke with a lot of residents at Saturday’s rally.
David Sylvester, one of many founders of the Caledon group Forks of the Credit score Preservation Group, mentioned, “We are now dealing with an 800-acre, below water table blast quarry application and it’s fair to say that everybody here today realizes that there’s a problem with the so called balance between the interests of the aggregate industry, the interests of local communities and the environment. And we believe that that balance needs to be rectified.”
Burlington resident Doreen acknowledged, “I would like Doug Ford to stick to the mandate that we gave him and it was not to pave over the Greenbelt or build more quarries or privatize healthcare. So Dougie, stick to what we pay you for.”
Roy, who lives near the Nelson quarry, advised of the rock blasted out of the quarry that landed in his entrance yard (some 500 ft away from the quarry) and his concern that the enlargement would possibly deliver the quarry nearer to his home.
Lowville resident Peter mentioned, “Our well water is being affected by this (Nelson quarry). They’re pumping 7.5 million litres of water a day out of the quarry because it’s gone below the water table and I’ve had to add $2,500 of additional water filtration to keep the water in my well clean.”
Roger Goulet, was a co-founder of Shield Escarpment Rural Land (PERL), the unique residents group that fought the previous Nelson quarry enlargement 20 years in the past, and gained. “We’re here because we’re trying to get this thing finally stopped,” noticed Goulet. “We’ve got the science behind us. We just need people to listen to it and act accordingly.”
In between the speeches from politicians reside and remotely (Mike Schreiner, Inexperienced Celebration; Bonnie Crombie, Liberal; Marit Stiles, NDP) and others, native champion Sarah Harmer and Jim Cuddy (Blue Rodeo) sang a couple of songs and introduced a festive vibe to the gathering.
“The system is unfortunately imbalanced in favour of an industry that’s not accountable so we’ve got to push a lot harder than you think we should have to,” mentioned Harmer. “I’m so inspired hearing from the mayors, from various MPPs, who really understand the need for reform of this industry. Environment commissioners have called for reform for years and it just hasn’t been done yet.”
Jim Cuddy, who was concerned with an earlier combat in opposition to the Melancthon ‘mega quarry’, a website that encompassed 937 hectares (about one third the scale of Toronto with a depth of 1.5 instances the depth of Niagara Falls), added, “I think the job is to make corporations realize that there are people living where they are trying to do business and to be more reasonable with how they do business.”
Doug Tripp, co-founder of RGMC summed up the day with, “It’s been a fabulous day, great turnout, a lot of energy. I go back to 2013 with the fight that I was involved in (Hidden Quarry near Rockwood). To see this today, it’s really spectacular. I think we’ve made some headway today. I guess Ford put himself in a spot by making a promise that I don’t think he was really prepared to keep. I believe we’re tipping the balance.”
