TORONTO – Citizens in rural Ontario are continuing their fight against a proposed mega-quarry.
Top chefs were joined by musicians Ron Sexsmith, Jim Cuddy, Sarah Harmer, Cuff the Duke and Hayden this weekend, as part of Foodstock.
Foodstock is a pay-what-you-can food festival. This year over $100,000 was raised to support the Stop the Mega Quarry movement.
One hundred chefs served hearty gourmet dishes to over 28,000 people, who braved the rain and wind to show their support for the movement.
In 2006, John Lowndes purchased over 8,000 acres of land for Highland Companies, telling local farmers of his plan to start a large co-operative potato farm. Local residents eventually grew suspicious of Highland’s plan for the land.
In 2009, Highland Companies, which is backed by Boston-based hedge fund Baupost Group, held a public meeting where it laid out the company’s proposal for digging a 2,300 acre quarry that critics say would have potentially devastating effects on the local community and environment.
This year, Foodstock was held on a potato farm across the road from where the proposed quarry would be – one of the few local farms that refused to sell to Lowndes.
The quarry would stretch over 2,300 acres in Melancthon Township, a rural community 110 km northeast of Toronto, ON. The quarry would be deeper than Niagara Falls, plunging down 200 feet. 600 million litres of water would be pumped out of the quarry every day, and thousands of 40-tonne trucks would travel on local roads every day, 24 hours a day.
In July 2011, international civic organization Avaaz.org launched a petition urging Canadians to voice their concern to Ontario’s Minister of Natural Resources Linda Jeffrey.
The mega-quarry proposal currently sits with the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Aggregates Resources, the Ontario government department responsible for ensuring sustainable extraction of sand, gravel, and stone in the province.
On September 1, after reviewing technical reports submitted to the government by quarry proponents, Minister of the Environment John Wilkinson ordered Highland Companies to undertake a comprehensive environmental assessment of the quarry proposal.
Groups protesting the mega-quarry are still waiting for such an assessment to take place.
Thousands of letters of objection have been sent to the Ministry of Natural Resources questioning the science of Highland’s initial application.
In the meantime, critics of the quarry are urging Canadians to contact their local MP and MPP and ask for a Joint Panel Review of the quarry application.
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