Mega-quarry fight-back continues

by Melissa Graham

Farmers, First Nations leaders, environmental and community activists braved one of the hottest days on record in late July when they assembled in front of Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment to protest a proposed mega-quarry in the Orangeville area, about 100 km north of Toronto near Melancthon Township.

Roughly 200 people showed up to protest this environmental catastrophe. For over an hour they stood outside in the blazing sun, giving speeches and chanting against the quarry with placards that read, “Stop the Mega-Quarry,” “Protect our Farmland,” and “Protect our Water.”

Earlier in July, another protest took place in Hamilton, and earlier this year activists and community members marched from Queen’s Park to the proposed quarry site in five days.

The site is backed by a US hedge fund and run by a corporation called Highland Companies. If the corporation has its way, it will build a giant pit in the backyard of these farmers and First Nations community members.

Impact

The pit would cover over 2,300 acres and sink 61 metres into the ground. The company would then pump 600 million litres of groundwater out of the hole each day to mine an estimated 1 billion tonnes of crushed rock material used to make concrete.

Imagine digging a hole deeper than Niagara Falls, and twice as wide, then pumping enough water out of that hole to fill two thousand tanker trucks each day.

The mega-quarry will severely contaminate the local water supply, harming the wildlife as well as the health and livelihood of local farmers and members of the community. The headwaters of seven rivers are located in the region.

The company is trying to downplay this fact, suggesting that the mega-quarry will have a minimal impact. In some cases, they claim it will actually benefit the environment. The truth is, under Ontario law, an environmental assessment is not required for a mega quarry.

While the quarry is still in the initial phases of the government licensing process, protesters are demanding that Ontario act now and reject the project.