A group of citizens involved in Milton who are campaigning to prevent the construction of a quarry in a rural part of the city do not have an easy time meeting with Prime Minister Doug Ford before the next by-election.
Today (April 24), ACTION (Association of Citizens Together in Our Nassagaweya) Milton, an organization that opposes the reopening of a quarry on the Guelph Line and Highway 401 in Campbellville, said it needed to meet with Ford before electing a new deputy. on May 2.
“Given that the polls also look like a race to be announced, ACTION Milton is calling on Prime Minister Ford to meet urgently,” the organization said in a statement.
“The Prime Minister knows that the other people of Milton do not need the Campbellville quarry and that taxpayers should not be subjected to an unnecessary environmental assessment.
In the statement, the organization said Ford had confided to the PC candidate, Zee Hamid, that the proposed race would not be approved. That said, the organization says Hamid told them at an assembly of all the applicants that an environmental assessment would be taken and that “the community members deserve to accept the procedure as true and let it happen. “
In a statement, the organization called it “unacceptable. “
“Now is the time for Conservatives to keep their promise and do what’s right for the citizens of Milton and Campbellville. With an undeniable stroke of the pen from the Prime Minister. . . the citizens of Milton can save thousands of dollars and health and protection issues,” the organization said.
George Minakakis, president of ACTION, recently told inhalton. com that reopening the Reid Road Reservoir quarry would be terrible for the community, as the explosions would affect the quality of life of local citizens by affecting groundwater and creating dust and pollutants in the air.
At an earlier news conference in Queen’s Park, he said Ford had kept its promise to reject the project.
Ford said he opposed the quarry in 2020, saying citizens and Milton Mayor Gordon Krantz were not in favor of the project.
ACTION said the estimated cost to fight the proposal is around $1 million, with the investment coming from local residents. According to a recent press release, the organization formed after James Dick Construction Ltd. It will request to ship up to 990,000 tons per year of extraction and reprocessed material. Underwater blasting will extract up to 350,000 tons annually, according to the company.
The organization said experts in the corporate structure said that in years when rainfall would be lower, the extraction of less than 350,000 tonnes per year could simply affect water levels in nearby wetlands and endangered and threatened species near the site.
In an earlier press release, the organization expressed fears about underwater explosions and the short distance (less than two kilometers) between the quarry and the Guelph line and the Campbellville Road area, which is home to a church and post office, a place to eat and homes.
The organization is also concerned about the potential impact on the environment, adding protected species such as turtles, salamanders, bluefish and walnuts, as well as trafficking.
In a statement, ACTION Milton said it sent a letter to Ford outlining the legal measures needed to prevent the proposed quarry and that it also has a petition with approximately 2,000 signatures that the NDP submitted in Queen’s Park earlier this week.
The organization says all leaders have pledged to prevent the project.
“It should be noted that all provincial leaders – the prime minister, NDP leader Marit Stiles, Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie and Green leader Mike Schreiner – have officially opposed the quarry,” he said.
“Milton expects a reaction from the Prime Minister’s Office as soon as possible. »
– With the archives of Jeffrey Allen