Home » Babble » rabble life » the media
babble-intro-img
babble is rabble.ca's discussion board but it's much more than that: it's an online community for folks who just won't shut up. It's a place to tell each other — and the world — what's up with our work and campaigns.

Hill and Knowlton take over Mega Quarry bid "Communications"

42 replies [Last post]

Comments

pogge
Offline
Joined: Mar 25 2002
September 1, 2011 - 7:19pm
#31

Statement from Minister of the Environment John Wilkinson Regarding Highland Companies Proposed Quarry in Dufferin County

Quote:

"After careful consideration, the Minister of Natural Resources and I have agreed to bring forward a regulation making Highland Companies subject to the requirements of the Environmental Assessment Act. As a result the company will be required to undertake a comprehensive Environmental Assessment for the proposed quarry in Melancthon Township.

Ministry of the Environment officials have thoroughly examined the technical reports which were submitted by the quarry proponents. Based on a review of those reports, and because of the unique nature of the Melancthon quarry proposal, I believe a full Environmental Assessment is necessary.

The McGuinty government is committed to protecting our water and our environment. Today's decision ensures that a transparent and independent assessment of the environmental impacts of Melancthon quarry proposal will be conducted."

ETA: a followup report from the Orangeville Banner: Minister orders EA for Melancthon quarry.


pogge
Offline
Joined: Mar 25 2002
September 15, 2011 - 7:23pm
#32

Chefs, farmers unite for Foodstock

Quote:
Activist chef Michael Stadtländer is spearheading a farm-based food protest and hopes 20,000 people will join him.

The Oct. 16 event is called Foodstock and it’s a pay-what-you-can culinary and musical rally against a proposed limestone mega quarry on prime agricultural land next to the Niagara Escarpment. The project’s opponents fear for the region’s water, farming and quality of life.

“We have to protect land that can grow food,” Stadtländer said Thursday. “We’re just at the dawn of localism, and after seeing the drought, hurricanes and floods that have happened in the United States, I think we had better secure where our food comes from.”

More at the link.

ETA: God I hate this editor.


Rebecca West
Offline
Joined: Nov 28 2001
September 15, 2011 - 8:01pm
#33

I am SO going to Foodstock!


Catchfire
Offline
Joined: Apr 16 2003
September 26, 2011 - 11:33am
#34

Melancthon quarry galvanizes opponents

Quote:

In 1830, a group of men set out from Hamilton, Ontario, to open up 32 hectares of land on a small Ojibway lake by Melancthon Township's Pine River. They, and the small industries that came after them, were attracted to the water resources in what was soon to be known as Horning's Mills. They built a sawmill, a grist mill, a frame house, and brought their families to settle and build this small historic community.

I stood on the crumbling foundations of one of the original mills for which Horning's Mills is named 180 years later, thinking about another group interested in the area's resources. The Highland Companies, with the financial backing of the $23 billion U.S. hedge fund Baupost, has bought up close to 8,000 acres of prime Ontario farmland in this sensitive area, and proposes to blast a 2,400 acre hole into the region's aquifer.

They'll also have to pump out some 600 million litres of water that filters through the aquifer each and every day to keep that big hole from filling up with water from a complex, largely unmapped network of underground streams and rivers. Now why, you may ask, would anyone want to destroy an aquifer -- the headwaters of five major rivers -- and put at risk the drinking water of some 1 million people downstream?

 


Boom Boom
Offline
Joined: Dec 29 2004
September 26, 2011 - 12:54pm
#35
The proposed project is simply insane.

Tommy_Paine
Offline
Joined: Apr 22 2001
September 26, 2011 - 10:24pm
#36


Isn't it though?  

Unrelated to this project, I just found out yesterday that just a few miles north of the proposed megga quarry, near an elementary school in the small town of Proton (pronounced Protun, not like the atomic particle) there is a high temperature incinerator proposed to burn sewage sludge trucked all the way up from Toronto. 

If it's so safe, why not locate the incinerator in Rosedale, and save all that trucking fuel and expense?


pogge
Offline
Joined: Mar 25 2002
September 29, 2011 - 11:13am
#37

Quarry protest Friday

Quote:

With just days left until the Oct. 6 provincial election, a group of farmers and concerned residents will be taking their message once again to Queen’s Park tomorrow (Friday) to protest the proposed mega quarry northwest of Alliston in Melancthon Township.

The rally begins at 3:30 p.m. outside the legislature in downtown Toronto. Organizers from Stop the Mega Quarry are holding the rally to celebrate achievements made over the past six months to put the quarry under more scrutiny, like the recently enacted environmental assessment. A list of speakers will attend the rally, including farmers, local food advocates, chefs, First Nation’s peoples and the Council of Canadians.


pogge
Offline
Joined: Mar 25 2002
October 17, 2011 - 11:12am
#38

Protest never tasted so sweet

Quote:

Adam Black never thought he would see the population of Melancthon swell to nearly 10 times its norm.

However, Foodstock “overwhelmed” the potato farmer as 28,000 people flooded his hometown on Sunday (Oct. 16), braving rain, intense wind and hail to show their opposition to The Highland Companies plans to turn 2,316 acres of farmland into an aggregate mine.

I'd say 28,000 is a pretty respectable turnout.


Tommy_Paine
Offline
Joined: Apr 22 2001
October 17, 2011 - 11:49am
#39

I was there, and it was a great turn out.

Considering that some people were probably diverted by the "Occupy Toronto" protest, and that the weather leading up to, and all the forecasts for the weekend were for cold wet windy conditions, it was amazing. 

I would hope that they make this an anual event, and move it up to the week before Thanksgiving. 

We got there around 11:30, and stayed till around 4:00. 

Various chefs were set up in the Woodlot (which was a good place to be-- once out of the wind, it was actually a pleasent day.)  and there were-- in spite of line ups-- many people impressed by the food.  I was impressed that all these chefs pulled that off without electricity, cooking over campfires. 

Many people watched the musical guests.  I stayed in the woods for the most part as the genre of music wasn't enough to get me out into the wind, so I can't give a review other than to say thousands braved the wind driven drizzel to enjoy the music, so I suspect it got good reviews from them.

There were also geology maps of the area to inform and turn the crank of geology nerds like me.

Walking through the crowds the only complaints I heard were about the line ups-- which looked worse than they actually were because they moved pretty quick from what I experienced.  And the mud.  Some people were surprised that there would be mud on a farm... 

All though I didn't see this, some others commented on one woman who steadfastly remained in high heels for the event.  Mostly though, I was amazed at the different colours and fashion patterns now available in Wellington Boots.

-----------------

When we left we went back to our friend's place who has a farm just west of Dundalk. We visited for a bit, then took off to a person's place east of there, that Rebeca West had met some months ago.  That host had invited Hanah, our ten year old who, (strange for 10 year old girls, I know) is infatuated by horses for a horse back ride. 

Our hosts land was breath taking.  there were swales or slumps or little hills that had me wondering if they were kettle features from the glaciers, or some karst feature from being on the edge of the escarpment.  The view over these features showed the opposite ridge of Pine valley on the horizon.  And the sun broke through from time to time.  

This sits right on the edge of the proposed quarry. 

The blasting and dust will make the area unfit for anything.

 


Tommy_Paine
Offline
Joined: Apr 22 2001
October 17, 2011 - 12:52pm
#40


Toronto Star photo's.


http://photogallery.thestar.com/1070917


And  a bit more in photos and text:

http://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2011/10/foodstock_draws_thousands_agains...


pogge
Offline
Joined: Mar 25 2002
October 27, 2011 - 9:44am
#41

Coverage in the Atlantic: Foodstock: Canadian Foodies and Chefs Fight Mega Quarry in Ontario

Quote:
The people kept coming. Despite rain and a bitter wind, tens of thousands of people gathered on a farm near Shelburne, Ontario, earlier this month to protest the transformation of 2,300 acres of prime agricultural land, by an American-backed company, into one of the continent's largest limestone quarries. About 100 chefs from across Canada, including some of the country's most famous, threw the biggest party the local food movement has seen here -- they called it Foodstock -- in the hope that they could save farmland and the groundwater below.


pogge
Offline
Joined: Mar 25 2002
February 7, 2012 - 7:27pm
#42

I believe this is the thread we were updating with developments.

The Highland Companies wants to pay municipalities more

The normal royalty payable to the host municipality would be $.06 per tonne of aggregate. The Highland Companies -- in the interest of "building good relationships" -- has volunteered to pay $.50 per tonne. I'm thinking that pending environmental assessment and the turnout at Foodstock have them a bit nervous about their investment.


Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Login or register to post comments