Food and Water First
Food Water FirstBaupost Group is Being Investigated Over its Mega-Quarry Investment
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- Published on Friday, 30 November 2012 16:34
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Baupost Group, the Parent Company of The Highlands Company, is Under Investigation
Zamansky & Associates is currently investigating the Baupost Group LLC (“Baupost”) hedge funds over its investment in the Highlands’ “mega-quarry” in Ontario, Canada. Baupost is the based in Boston, MA, hedge fund group with reported assets under management of $22 billion. Founded by Seth Klarman in 1982, Baupost has a successful record at “value investing”..............
Zamansky’s investigation concerns whether Baupost’s stake and/or activities associated with the “mega-quarry” breached duties owed to investors. In particular, Zamansky is investigating whether such a venture capital development as the mega-quarry investment was authorized for the value-oriented Baupost funds, and whether the risks were sufficiently disclosed.
Posted on the website of Zamansky and Associates, November 2012
Mega-quarry victory shows people have the power
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- Published on Wednesday, 28 November 2012 14:00
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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.” These words, attributed to anthropologist Margaret Mead, capture the power that we, as citizens, have to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to protect the environment.
By David Suzuki
Posted on "rabble.ca", Nov. 27, 2012
No Mega Quarry After All - The Agenda with Steve Paikin
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- Published on Saturday, 24 November 2012 15:38
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The Inside Agenda Blog
It was a classic, modern-day problem.
We need aggregate to build roads for our increasingly urban society. And we want to dig for that aggregate as close to market as possible, to keep the price as low as possible.
But one of the best areas to dig for that aggregate was in some of the most pristine, beautiful farming areas of the province: Melancthon Township near Collingwood, about a two hours' drive north of Toronto. And the locals were vehemently opposed to the plan. They insisted that digging a 30-storey deep pit for aggregate -- with the hundreds of trucks per day that would come into the community -- was completely inconsistent with the other land use in the area.
By Steve Paikin
Posted on TVO, The Agenda with Steve Paikin, The Inside Agenda Blog, Nov. 22, 2012
http://theagenda.tvo.org/blog/agenda-blogs/no-mega-quarry-after-all
OFA Congratulates NDACT on Mega Quarry Win
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- Published on Saturday, 24 November 2012 03:37
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GUELPH, ON – The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) congratulates the North Dufferin Agricultural & Community Taskforce (NDACT) and its supporters on news that Highland Companies has withdrawn its application to the province for a licence to build a quarry in Dufferin County.
Highland Companies has met significant citizen opposition for several years when it applied for a licence to mine 2,316 acres of prime farmland in Melancthon Township for limestone. Due to the significant size and scope of the quarry plans, it was dubbed a “mega quarry” among its opponents.
“This is excellent news for Ontario, and it’s a testament to the true power of collective lobbying when a group of citizens come together,” says Mark Wales, President of the OFA. “OFA is a strong advocate for the protection of prime agricultural land for food production above all other uses, including aggregates extraction.”
The OFA recently filed a position on the Provincial Policy Statement that governs the province’s Aggregate Resources Act – a piece of legislation meant to balance the need for aggregates such as sand and gravel with the protection of other important resources such as water and agricultural land.
“The Melancthon site is of particular interest because not only is it prime agricultural land, but it also contains a specialty soil known as Honeywood soil that is unique to that area,” Wales says. “OFA strongly advocates that as a province Ontario must minimize activities that lead to a loss of our agricultural lands. This is a significant win for Ontario.”
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is the largest general farm organization in Ontario, representing 37,000 farm families across the province. As a dynamic farmer-led organization based in Guelph, the OFA works to represent and champion the interests of Ontario farmers through government relations, farm policy recommendations, lobby efforts, community representation, media relations and more. OFA is the leading advocate for Ontario’s farmers and is Ontario’s voice of the farmer.
Posted on "Farms.com", Nov. 22, 2012
http://www.farms.com/news/ofa-congratulates-ndact-on-mega-quarry-win-57257.aspx
Melancthon mega-quarry shutdown becomes a how-to lesson in grassroots campaigning
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- Published on Thursday, 22 November 2012 18:42
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What was to be the largest quarry in Canada is now a lesson in humility after an unlikely collection of farmers, celebrity chefs, rock stars and NIMBYs across the province petitioned, protested and ultimately blocked the establishment of a massive limestone mine in southern Ontario.
News that The Highland Companies had withdrawn its application to build a mega-quarry in Melancthon township, some 100 kilometres northwest of Toronto, was met with surprise and celebration by those who had opposed its development in southern Ontario's Green Belt for the past two years.
The whole affair can be seen as a win for the "lawn-sign protesters" who opposed the quarry without resorting to angry foot stomping and vitriolic threats.
Signs opposing the quarry were posted along streets as far away as Toronto and local farmers garnered support from across the region by holding large festivals, luring people to see the area first hand.
[ Related: 'Mega-quarry' in southern Ontario won't be built ]
The Globe and Mail reported that the grand appeal began with Michael Stadtländer, a renowned chef with a farm in the area, who urged Canada's culinary community to help protect the food sources that could have been threatened by the quarry.
A 2011 music festival known as Foodstock lured some 30,000 people to the area to experience firsthand the region facing the perceived threat. That made way for the even larger Soupstock festival earlier this year, featuring artists such as Jim Cuddy and Sarah Harmer.
Stadtländer said, via the Globe:
We mobilized a lot of people. 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.
That may be the biggest take away from the Melancthon quarry debate — those who opposed the quarry won by making it a personal issue to a larger audience. Where other protests and rallies cry out against general environmental threats, perhaps failing to connect with those not already indoctrinated in the cause, those who opposed the mega-quarry reached those who had not considered how they would be affected.
Foodies, visitors to farmers markets, and restaurant-goers across the province joined a cause to which they may never have otherwise felt connected. The "Not in My Backyard" crowd was made to see Melancthon township farmland as an extension of their backyard.
Sylvia Jones, provincial representative for the region, congratulated residents for running a strong and coherent grassroots campaign against the quarry.
"There is a lesson to be learned here: local residents, community groups and municipal councils, can make a difference," she said in a statement. "Concerned residents, artists, musicians, chefs put together hugely successful events like Food Stock, and Soup Stock to raise awareness to their concerns.
"Their cause really became a movement across Ontario and today we can praise their determination and hard work."
The economic repercussions of the decision won't be known for some time, but some in the southern Ontario construction industry expect it will have a negative impact on the price of building infrastructure such as roads and homes in the region.
Moreen Miller, CEO of the Ontario Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, told the Toronto Star:
The project would have created hundreds of jobs and helped meet the overwhelming need for natural resources for infrastructure development. There's been lots of discussion in the GTA about our aging infrastructure and this material is needed in order to make our cities safe and sustainable.
In a statement, The Highland Companies said it believed the quarry would have helped supply Ontario with much-needed construction material, but due to the lack of support it would return its focus to growing potatoes and other crops.
So for now the land will continue feeding the urban foodies that helped save it, but one must wonder what happens when a lack of building material becomes a bigger issue for the province.
Perhaps southern Ontario can expect a Limestone stock in the coming years.
By Matthew Coutts
Posted in the "Daily Brew" blog, Nov. 22, 2012