More newsclips: Mega-quarry application withdrawn

By JOE FRIESEN The Globe and Mail Nov. 22 2012

It would have been the biggest quarry in Canada, but it was stopped in its tracks by an unusual coalition of farmers, urban foodies, artists, environmentalists and native bands, one that suggests a model for organizing opposition to resource projects.

The movement against the Ontario quarry was launched with nothing more than a basic story. An American company had convinced local farmers it was buying up chunks of land for a potato farm. Potatoes were only part of the plan, however. It soon made an application to build a massive quarry that the opposition said would threaten the groundwater and soil in one of the most fertile land belts in the country.

The plan seemed outrageous to many locals. But how could anyone else be convinced to care if it wasn’t happening in their backyard? The rest of the province had to be persuaded that the fight was about them, too. That meant mobilizing people in the cities. The best way proved to be through their stomachs.

On Wednesday, the Highland Companies withdrew its controversial application to build a limestone quarry in Melancthon township, about 100 kilometres northwest of Toronto, citing a lack of support in the community.

It was an unexpected move that capped a two-year battle for a diverse band of citizens.

What began with local farmers afraid of a potential threat to their land soon became a broad coalition, whose clout grew through the political motivations of urban foodies. Among the first and most influential was Michael Stadtländer, renowned as one of the country’s great chefs, who has a farm and restaurant in the area of the proposed site. He rallied the Canadian Chefs Congress to the cause and in 2011 was part of a massive festival called Foodstock, that brought nearly 30,000 people to the area to sample locally grown foods prepared by dozens of celebrity chefs. This year he also helped organize Soupstock, bringing the protest to Toronto through an even larger food festival. He tried to convey the importance of protecting local food sources.

“We mobilized a lot of people,” Mr. Stadtländer said. “We had people come to the country and experience the land. This farmland grows food for the city. … For me it was a nice strategy.”

Another important strategic point to capture foodies was at Toronto farmers’ markets, where signs saying Stop the Mega Quarry were distributed along with pamphlets and petitions. Mark Calzavara, Ontario organizer for the Council of Canadians, said the movement really harnessed the emerging enthusiasm for food as a political tool.

“Food was a new message and really important,” Mr. Calzavara said. “They really mobilized in every way they could, from food to music to popular culture. In my neighbourhood, they were at the farmers market in High Park every week with signs and literature.”

The opposition also drew on the experience of the protest that stopped the Site 41 landfill project in Tiny Township. As in that case, the anti-quarry group made sure people from as many walks of life as possible were involved. Divisions between locals and those with weekend homes, between natives and non-natives, young and old, country and city, all had to be set aside for the greater goal.

Artist Sandi Wong, who has a weekend home in the area, organized paint-in events that drew artists to the movement. Rancher Carl Cosack was a tireless advocate in the media. Musicians such as Sarah Harmer and Jim Cuddy played benefit concerts. An Avaaz.org petition was organized that garnered nearly 130,000 signatures, one of the largest ever handed to the Ontario government. And the David Suzuki Foundation lent its heavyweight environmental credentials.

Jeff Monague, a councillor at Beausoleil First Nation, said about 50 members of his band were regulars at protests and other anti-quarry events. He said this model of a broad coalition of non-violent resistance can be a model for protests all over the country, particularly for land and water issues that affect natives.

“It was a grassroots effort. It really came from the people,” Mr. Monague said. “One of the things we’re trying to show is that we can do these kinds of things without any direct conflict, that it can be non-violent all the way through. The young people can really learn from that.”

 

Toronto Star editorial November 25, 2012 

When the battle over the Melancthon mega quarry first came to light in early 2011, there didn’t seem much doubt about the outcome. On one side was a $25-billion Boston hedge fund and an international PR firm. On the other, a motley crew of concerned Ontario farmers. It was hard to imagine the U.S.-backed Highland Companies failing to get what it wanted: a massive limestone mine in the fertile farmland 100 km northwest of Toronto.

Yet last week the hedge fund conceded defeat to the amateur activists – an upset of David-and-Goliath proportions that holds at least three important lessons for environmentalists:

1.Tell a simple story

From the start, opposition to the mega quarry was based not just on the environmental impact of the proposed project, but also on the oft-repeated story of a then-nameless company, backed by a multi-billion-dollar hedge-fund, buying up swaths of farmland near Orangeville under the pretense of building a potato farm.

In fact, as we now know, the plan was to dig up more than 2,300 acres of bountiful farmland – and, incidentally, permanently impede the source waters of five pristine rivers – to build the largest open-pit mine in Canadian history. The project’s opponents understood that this story, simply told, made the mega quarry seem sinister and its opponents like helpless victims.

2. Form a diverse coalition

Had the quarry’s opponents been limited to the initial group of locals and farmers, the outcome likely would have been different. Instead, they quickly recruited native bands in the area, environmentalists across the country – including David Suzuki – and perhaps most decisively, the growing subculture of Toronto foodies and their celebrity chef leaders.

In this way, the movement broadened into a political force that couldn’t be ignored, eventually prompting the provincial government to launch an extensive environmental review of the project that may have been the last straw for Highland Companies.

3.Transcend NIMBYism

The movement’s key strength may have been its ability to explain to those not immediately affected by the project why they ought to care. The quarry’s opponents did that by hitching their cause to the thriving local food movement. Most Torontonians would never have directly experienced the environmental devastation wrought by the quarry, but the prospect of losing the source of so much delectable local produce, including nearly half of the city’s potato stock, was too steep a cost for many to accept.

With simple messaging, a broad coalition and a little political imagination, the opponents of the mega quarry beat the odds. Environmentalists take note.

 

By Jim Merriam, Toronto Sun November 23, 2012

Rural Ontario can be forgiven for its celebratory mood this week. After all, The Man blinked and the grassroots movement finally won one.

The issue was the mega-quarry in Melancthon Township near Shelburne. The Highland Companies announced Thursday the application to extract aggregate from the quarry is being withdrawn and Highland president John Lowndes has stepped down.

A company spokesperson said the application “does not have sufficient support from the community and government to justify proceeding.”

A classic understatement if ever there was one, with anti-quarry signs appearing as far away as Toronto lawns.

The proposed quarry was “mega” in every sense of the word. It would have covered 2,313 acres, or 93.7 hectares, of what is arguably some of the best farmland in the province.

The area’s Honeywood silt loam is as good as it gets for any number of crops, especially potatoes.

In fact, Highland Companies has become a major potato producer since it started acquiring land for the quarry in 2006.

The numbers from In The Hills magazine tell the “mega” story. The five-kilometre wide quarry contained an estimated one billion tonnes of rock reserve, enough to build a two-lane highway 55,555 kilometres long (the circumference of the Earth is 40,075 km).

Water protection was a big concern for quarry opponents, since the site would have been dug out 61 metres feet below the water table. By comparison, Niagara Falls is 51 metres high.

The grassroots victory on the quarry should put some wind under the wings, if you will, of opponents of so-called wind “farms” in Ontario (these huge wind-turbine developments are as much like farms as my mules are like angels).

Many of the quarry protesters are also involved in the opposition to turbines being shoved down the throats of rural residents.

Although the quarry opposition began with local farmers, it grew into a coalition that included environmentalists, celebrity chefs (such as local-food guru Michael Stadtlander) and others.

The environmentalists are unlikely to join the wind-turbine protesters, since that would put them against “green” energy, even though the jury is out on how green is green.

Since aggregate is the key ingredient of the building blocks for construction from roads to condos, the decision does nothing to help find sustainable sources of aggregate within a reasonable distance of the GTA.

Maureen Miller, chief executive of the Ontario Stone, Sand and Gravel Association, expressed disappointment at the Highland decision.

Not only is the aggregate sorely needed, but the industry is also a major employer in Ontario, she said.

Even though it’s difficult to get rural residents to feel sorry for builders in Toronto, Miller’s concerns are well-founded.

The National Association of Home Builders Research Centre makes it clear few other things will work in making concrete, since aggregate is a key component of the finished product, not just filler.

In the asphalt industry, ground rubber from old tires has shown promise as an aggregate replacement. Asphalt is the largest single market for ground rubber in the U.S., consuming about 12 million tires annually.

But that’s only a drop in the proverbial bucket of the need for aggregate across North America.

Another mega-quarry, or several smaller quarries, will need to be found, preferably nowhere near prime farmland.

  

GAYLE MACDONALD The Globe and Mail Nov. 23 2012

Link to neat graphic    

 

By Brad Pritchard Barrie Advance Nov 22, 2012  

SIMCOE COUNTY – Simcoe-Grey MPP Jim Wilson says the company behind the mega quarry proposal in Melancthon did the right thing in backing down from its mining plans, but he maintains it stood no chance of ever getting approved. 

“I think the company made the right decision,” Wilson said. “As the former minister of the environment I told them on many occasions I don’t think you will ever get approval.”

Wilson says the proposal was just asking for too much.

“By asking for something the size of Lake Simcoe they brought disrepute on the entire industry,” he said. “It’s a good industry in Ontario and it’s one we need, but we have to follow the rules and regulations and this company was going way beyond what was necessary or even possible.”

Wednesday (Nov. 21), the company behind the proposal – The Highland Companies – announced it was withdrawing its 3,100-page application for the quarry, stating it didn’t have enough support from the community and government to obtain approval.

In early 2011 the company filed its application to mine over 2,300 acres of prime farmland near Shelburne for limestone.

There were no shortage of concerns brought on by the proposal and chief among them were the potential environmental impacts. The quarry would have extended 200 feet below the water table and would have required about 600 litres of water re-circulated back underground each day.

The concerns eventually prompted the provincial government to order an environmental assessment for the quarry.

Speaking anecdotally, Wilson said the application didn’t sit well with many people belonging to the province’s aggregate association. Overall, he thinks the situation painted the industry in a bad light.

“None of them were particularly happy with the approach that the company took,” he said. “It made them all look bad and it made aggregate a bad word when in fact we use it every day.”

Lindsay Broadhead, spokesperson for The Highland Companies, declined to respond to Wilson’s remarks. She said the application put forward was “strong” and that it addressed the provincial government’s need for aggregate from a source “close to market.”

“At the end of the day, Highland made a business decision to withdraw its application because there was not sufficient support for it to proceed,” she added.

The quarry cancellation is a monumental win for residents and environmental groups – locally and across the province – that have been rallying against the proposal since day one.

“It’s a victory for the little guys,” Wilson said. “You have to thank the residents and the thousands of people who signed petitions and sent in emails and letters.”

Carl Cosack is the chair of the North Dufferin Agricultural Community Taskforce (NDACT), the organization that played the leading role throughout the protest.Cosack said the residents and organizations like the environmental citizens’ group AWARE Simcoe and the Simcoe Federation of Agriculture were important allies along the way. He said both organizations offered a lot of help and support.

“It’s been a tremendous community ride throughout and I can’t say enough about how humbled I am about all the involvement and active participation.”

When the company announced it was backing down from the application, it also said it plans to continue with its potato farming operations at the site.

Wilson remains skeptical that the quarry issue is gone for good.

“I hope they don’t revisit the application but in my gut I’m not sure,” he said. “I can’t believe they are just going to grow potatoes from now until the end of time. There’s good rock under that soil and somebody someday will probably go after it again.” 

 

By Jayme Poisson Toronto Star November 23, 2012

The Mega Quarry is dead, and so now begins the post mortem, the dissecting of the fight that led to a corporation’s surprise decision to give up and cut its losses.

On Wednesday, Highland Companies, the American-backed company behind the proposal to build a massive quarry on prime farmland in Melancthon Township, cited a lack of government and community support for its withdrawal. The ‘Stop the Mega Quarry’ folks claimed victory.

Ask the experts, and they’ll tell you how the stars aligned for quarry opponents — an eclectic mix of local farmers, aboriginal people, urbanites, environmentalists, celebrity chefs and rock stars. The opposition, they say, defined Highland from the get-go, and the quarry came to represent issues people were already thinking about. Never, they say, underestimate the power of indignation and a good story.

Highland’s first problem began in 2006, when a man, John Lowndes, came around offering to take the land off the hands of local farmers. Lowndes, farmers say, touted a vision of becoming the largest potato producer in the province. Offered prices above market value, about 30 sold.

While Highland has said there were discussions about “different land uses” and that the company made good on its promise to farm, some locals said they sold, or considered selling, only because they thought their land would remain farmland.

“Obviously, there’s a simple remedy for companies in the future going forward, and that is: Don’t do that. Because obviously, it does come back to bite you,” said Queen’s University marketing professor Ken Wong.

“When you’re proposing something, there’s no experience base to go by. And especially when you’re new to the community, they don’t know you. They’ve never done any business with you, so why should I believe you?”

He added: “And this is an instance where a lack of disclosure is as much a lie as a blatant lie … That notion of ‘It’s easier to say I’m sorry than it is to get approval.’ In initiatives like this one, that does not apply.”

There have been quarry fights in Ontario before, but those have largely been thought of as local schisms. Never has one pulled such a broad base of support and media attention.

David Simmonds, a senior consultant at public relations firm Navigator Ltd., thinks the quarry’s location on prime farmland and the current focus on local food played a key role.

“It leveraged what is becoming a culture of cool around food in Toronto, and that gave people a very easy thing to be excited about and to say no to,” he said of what he calls a “latent group of supporters.”

Another issue championed by quarry opponents was potential damage to pure water supplies.

“Coming on the tails of some of the disasters we’ve had in this province with water supplies, I think any time you talk about … damage to the water table, you’re going to get politicians’ attention,” Wong said.

Add to that, the narrative of an American-backed company that hired a multinational public relations firm. Highland, thinks Simmonds, could have been helped by a local champion who could talk about benefits the quarry would create, such as jobs. “You have to get people to understand the value locally, and I’m not sure that they were able to do that,” he said.

While kudos must go to the locals who stood up first and said, “No, we’re not going to take this,” the scales really began to tip when the heavyweights started stepping in, Simmonds said — Chef Michael Stadtländer, who brought droves of chefs to 2011’s Foodstock and last month’s Soupstock, rock musician Jim Cuddy and big-name environmentalists like the David Suzuki Foundation. Urbanites who have weekend homes in the area also helped the cause.

“People who organize by profession, and organizations like the David Suzuki Foundation … You can’t underestimate the value they brought to the table once they got involved … they professionalized the (community) organization,” said Simmonds, adding that it would be naïve to cast this story as simply a David versus Goliath tale.

“When you have Hollywood celebrities, musicians and David Suzuki — who’s a giant in his own right — lending their support to something, then it turns out to be a bit of a fairer fight,” he said.

Wong points out that when so many elements coalesce, it’s easier to see the government potentially stepping in, whether that’s using “moral suasion” or the threat of legislation.

Halfway through the quarry application process, the province subjected the project to an environmental assessment, a first for an Ontario quarry.

“And frankly, that’s the classic moral suasion: ‘We can’t stop you, but we can make it difficult,” he said.

The sheer size of the project — the quarry would have been one of the largest in North America, about one-third of the size of downtown Toronto — mattered too, said Winnie Ng, who holds the Gindin Chair of Social Justice and Democracy at Ryerson University. That the company promised it would, while mining smaller pods, revert the quarry floor back to farmland over 50 to 100 years gave her pause.

“None of us are going to be around 100 years from now; you can promise the moon,” she said, noting that people get indignant when they perceive insincerity.

“You never underestimate what indignation can do,” she said. Volunteers spent thousands of hours writing letters to politicians, selling lawn signs, speaking at elementary schools, tweeting, organizing art shows and walks.

In an interview earlier this week, Highland principal John Scherer said the company will be focusing on growing potatoes. President John Lowndes has stepped down. Asked whether there was anything he thinks could have been done differently, Scherer said:

“I guess as we reflect, we did not do a good job of engaging the local community from the outset … and because of that, I think there’s a lot of misinformation that got circulated and got put out, and I think that we didn’t do a good job, really, of trying to correct that misinformation as well. Our kind of message got lost.”

So can this case be used as a template for other burgeoning grassroots protest movements?

“I think we need to be careful about extrapolating an instance as best practice,” Simmonds said. “There’s so much involved in this particular issue — so many actors, so many moving parts — that it would be hard to say it could be easily replicated.”

With files from Jessica McDiarmid 

 

Application withdrawn for Melancthon Township Barrie Examiner