Community and Ontario win with death of mega-quarry

 
Toronto – Community groups and concerned citizens scored a victory for Ontario today.
 
After mounting public opposition, the Highland Companies announced that they are withdrawing their proposal to build a mega-quarry in Melancthon Township.
 
“Highland’s retreat clearly shows the power of citizens speaking out for their community,” said Mike Schreiner, leader of the Green Party of Ontario. “Projects like the proposed mega-quarry, that would have deep and lasting consequences to our communities, land and water, need greater scrutiny.”
 
The proposed mega quarry would have destroyed a 2,400 acres of prime farmland and blasted 20 storeys below the water table.  The quarry would have used approximately 6 million litres of water every day (roughly 100,000 times more than an average “major residential development”), which equates to approximately 25% of all water consumed/used in the entire province each day.
 
The Green Party is pushing for legislation that provides better protection for water and farmland. The party has called for closing loopholes in the Aggregate Resources Act by requiring a full Environmental Assessment for any mega-quarry application.
 
“Today is a time to celebrate and thank all the citizens who spoke out against this quarry,” says Schreiner. “The people of Ontario want to protect clean water and preserve prime farmland. We need political leadership that champions these values.” 
 
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Photo credit to Natalia Shields