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Mr Craig Laing, Aggregate Resources Officer
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
2284 Nursery Road
Midhurst, Ontario L0L 1X0
Objection to Highland Companies Mega Quarry Application EBR 011‐2864
Dear Mr Laing
I am the Chairperson of the Council of Canadians, a national public advocacy
organization advocating for social and environmental justice with thousands of
members and dozens of activist chapters across the country. I am writing to you to
express the opposition of the Council of Canadians to the proposed mega quarry in
Melanchthon Township. Our interest is twofold. We have hundreds of members in
the area who have asked us to intervene on their behalf as they have great concerns
about the impact this quarry will have on the environment of the area, particularly
on water quality, and the harm it will cause their way of life. As well, the Council of
Canadians is committed to a just and sustainable model of development that
protects the land, air and water of our communities to the best of our collective
ability. We feel that this proposed quarry in no way meets the test of just and
sustainable development.
The proposed massive 2,316‐acre open pit limestone quarry would border the
Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, destroy productive farmland,
pollute the air, given the proposed hundreds of 40‐ton trucks that will travel the
local roads every day, and threaten the area’s water. Below the proposed quarry
lies the Amabel‐Lockport‐Guelph Aquifer that forms the headwaters of five major
river systems – the Pine, the Grand, the Nottawasaga, the Saugeen and the Beaver –
all important drinking water sources for more than one million people. The quarry
would blast 60 meters (deeper than Niagara Falls) beneath the water table and
extract approximately 600 million litres of water every day. Highland Companies
plans to pump that water, collected daily on the open pit mine floor, and likely now
contaminated with blasting residue and diesel fuels, back into the wells around the
site. The potential damage to the environment, particularly the water supplies of the
region, is devastating.
I have just returned from celebrating Earth Day at the United Nations where the
General Assembly held an “Interactive Dialogue” on the issue of “Harmony with
Nature.” Many countries around the world are deeply concerned with the model of
development that takes the earth, water, forests, soil, air and other species for
granted and are seeking ways to protect and sustain nature for future generations
and for all living beings. They are debating the whole notion of the rights of nature –
the concept that we must find ways to protect the vitality of natural ecosystems and
limit our activity to the kinds of development that leave the natural world as intact
as possible. Some countries have already passed laws that actually protect against
species extinction and outlaw watershed destruction. Certainly, First Nations people
here in Canada and around the world understand the need to live in harmony with
nature if we, and the earth are to survive.
While we do not have such legislation in Ontario, we do have the Clean Water Act
that empowers local communities to take action to prevent harm to their local water
sources and requires public participation at every step of the way in any new
project that may impact water. It is very clear that the local community is speaking
loud and clear in the defence of these local water sources and does not want the
mega quarry under consideration.
There is another issue that should be raised. Because the construction company is
backed by the Baupost Group, a Boston‐based multi‐billion dollar hedge fund, it
likely has NAFTA rights to sue the Canadian government if at any time after the
contract has been signed, any level of government changes its mind on the project or
attempts to limit damage to the land and water of the area by imposing new
restrictions on the company’s operations. As well, NAFTA’s Chapter 11 gives
American corporations operating in Canada the right to claim the water sources
they use in their operations. The Canadian government recently awarded the
American pulp and paper company Abitibi Bowater $125 million in compensation
for the water it no longer uses after it voluntarily abandoned its operation in
Newfoundland. This payment has set a dangerous precedent that could be repeated
in the case of this quarry if, at any time in the future, the company pulls out or if the
local or provincial government tries to reclaim some of the water sources first
allotted to it. Even if we were to find that the water sources in the area were being
drawn down too quickly or polluted, the company would have NAFTA investor‐state
rights not accorded to Canadian companies.
The area surrounding the prosed quarry is one of the most beautiful and fertile
natural places in the country, perhaps even the world. It is imperative that we who
are entrusted with the preservation of these wonderful natural spaces for future
generations take our role very seriously. I strongly urge your ministry to deny
Highland Companies the permit to construct a mega quarry in this area and to act as
a steward of this land and water now and for all time.
Yours sincerely,
Maude Barlow
National Chairperson
Council of Canadians