During the 2024 Milton by-election campaign, Ontario premier Doug Ford said, “I know the mayor doesn’t want it (Campbellville quarry) no one wants it, I don’t want it, we’re going to make sure it doesn’t happen, one way or another”.
More than 300 people from Milton, Burlington, Caledon and the surrounding area gathered in Milton on Saturday (Jan. 25) to remind the premier of his words.
Organizers, Reform Gravel Mining Coalition (RGMC), CORE Burlington and ACTION Milton held a rally at Country Heritage Park to hear speeches, listen to musicians Sarah Harmer and Jim Cuddy perform a little music, and to remind Ford to keep his promise to stop aggregate quarries in Campbellville (Reid Road Reservoir) and Burlington (Mount Nemo).
It was standing room only while mayors and citizens from told the group about the impacts gravel mining had on their communities and to share what their councils were doing to support residents in their fight against gravel mining in the Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO world heritage site.
“I’m here because we’re here trying to fight the expansion of the Nelson quarry,” explained, Burlington mayor Marianne Meed Ward. “There are significant concerns about air quality, species at risk. We have a 60-day hearing coming up on March 4 (with the Ontario Land Tribunal OLT). We will be fighting with everything we’ve got, like we did the last time (2012 against Nelson Aggregates). It’s not good for the community. It’s not good for the environment and not good for the surrounding communities.”
Said Mayor Gord Krantz, “I’m very supportive of what ACTION Milton is doing and as a regional councillor I’m aware of the impacts on places such as the Nelson quarry. I’ve gone on record as opposing the Campbellville quarry along with the majority of Milton council.”
One of those councillors at the time was Zee Hamid who went on to win the provincial by-election and who has said both before and after becoming the Milton MPP, that he was opposed to the quarry.
Caledon Mayor Annette Groves noted that the Town of Caledon (in Peel Region just north of Milton) has 22 pits and quarries within its borders. “I’m here to listen, to support the residents and get some information. It’s a concern for me and it affects the residents. It goes back to the days of the Rockfort quarry and the concerns that were expressed then are the same concerns we have today.”
In the early 2000s James Dick Construction, the same company that wants to build the Campbellville quarry, tried to convert 145 acres of land into a quarry that, after over a decade of citizen action, was denied by the OMB (forerunner of the OLT) in 2010.
BurlingtonToday spoke with a number of residents at Saturday’s rally.
David Sylvester, one of the founders of the Caledon group Forks of the Credit Preservation Group, said, “We are now dealing with an 800-acre, below water table blast quarry application and it’s fair to say that everybody here today realizes that there’s a problem with the so called balance between the interests of the aggregate industry, the interests of local communities and the environment. And we believe that that balance needs to be rectified.”
Burlington resident Doreen stated, “I would like Doug Ford to stick to the mandate that we gave him and it was not to pave over the Greenbelt or build more quarries or privatize healthcare. So Dougie, stick to what we pay you for.”
Roy, who lives close to the Nelson quarry, told of the rock blasted out of the quarry that landed in his front yard (some 500 feet away from the quarry) and his concern that the expansion might bring the quarry closer to his house.
Lowville resident Peter said, “Our well water is being affected by this (Nelson quarry). They’re pumping 7.5 million litres of water a day out of the quarry because it’s gone below the water table and I’ve had to add $2,500 of additional water filtration to keep the water in my well clean.”
Roger Goulet, was a co-founder of Protect Escarpment Rural Land (PERL), the original citizens group that fought the past Nelson quarry expansion 20 years ago, and won. “We’re here because we’re trying to get this thing finally stopped,” observed Goulet. “We’ve got the science behind us. We just need people to listen to it and act accordingly.”
In between the speeches from politicians live and remotely (Mike Schreiner, Green Party; Bonnie Crombie, Liberal; Marit Stiles, NDP) and others, local champion Sarah Harmer and Jim Cuddy (Blue Rodeo) sang a few songs and brought a festive vibe to the gathering.
“The system is unfortunately imbalanced in favour of an industry that’s not accountable so we’ve got to push a lot harder than you think we should have to,” said Harmer. “I’m so inspired hearing from the mayors, from various MPPs, who really understand the need for reform of this industry. Environment commissioners have called for reform for years and it just hasn’t been done yet.”
Jim Cuddy, who was involved with an earlier fight against the Melancthon ‘mega quarry’, a site that encompassed 937 hectares (about one third the size of Toronto with a depth of 1.5 times the depth of Niagara Falls), added, “I think the job is to make corporations realize that there are people living where they are trying to do business and to be more reasonable with how they do business.”
Doug Tripp, co-founder of RGMC summed up the day with, “It’s been a fabulous day, great turnout, a lot of energy. I go back to 2013 with the fight that I was involved in (Hidden Quarry near Rockwood). To see this today, it’s really spectacular. I think we’ve made some headway today. I guess Ford put himself in a spot by making a promise that I don’t think he was really prepared to keep. I believe we’re tipping the balance.”