It May be Time to Rethink Where Your Food Comes From

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Published on Monday, 27 May 2013 12:45

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It may be time to rethink where you get your food.On May 16, Beaches-East York MP Matthew Kellway hosted a “Food Insecurity” event. With an impressive lineup of panelists, it was a full-house event with many aspects of food security discussed. To name two panelists: Carl Cosack, one of my favourite speakers(who has the natural ability to relate to any audience and make them laugh); and Wayne Roberts, a food policy pioneer in Toronto retired from the Toronto Food Policy Council in 2010. This was my first time hearing Roberts speak. He spoke of the incredible variety of citizens groups in Toronto, who work hard and smart with almost no resources. They are filling the gaps that the various levels of government are not. Roberts said that to his knowledge there is no food strategy plan in Ontario or in Canada. That means that there’s no emergency plan to deal with a situation that would affect food imports, for example, if 2003’s outbreak of SARS had been more severe.Something that many in the audience knew, but which will be news to most readers, is that we only have a three-days food supply in Toronto. I imagine that the same can be said for most cities —and even rural communities, because the majority of people buy all their food and usually from food stores instead of from farmers directly. Given the nature of supermarkets’ “just in time delivery” business model, roadways are being used as warehouses for our food.

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Recycled aggregate use bill supported by ARO

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Published on Thursday, 09 May 2013 02:13

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A private members bill that would prohibit restricting the use of recycled aggregate in all construction contracts by public sector bodies is receiving praise from the head of Aggregate Recycling Ontario (ARO).

“We need to continue to encourage everyone to talk about aggregate recycling,” said Moreen Miller, ARO executive director and president and chief executive officer of the Ontario Stone, Sand and Gravel Association.

“Toronto, especially the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), is becoming a big city and we need to act like one. We need to take advantage of our resources that can be recycled and a big part of that is aggregate.”

Bill 56, An Act to prohibit certain restrictions on the use of aggregates in performing public sector construction work, was introduced by Progressive Conservative MPP for Dufferin-Caledon Sylvia Jones and passed first reading in the Ontario Legislature on Earth Day, April 22.

“Ontario residents also expect that, where appropriate, recycled aggregates will be fairly considered in all construction contracts entered into by the government of Ontario and the broader public sector. This allows for a better balance between the need for primary aggregate extraction and secondary aggregate recycling in Ontario,” said Jones at Queen’s Park.

Currently, bids can be turned down if they call for the use of recycled aggregates in a construction project.

Jones pointed out that several public sector bodies, such as the Ministry of Transportation and some municipalities, are incorporating recycled aggregates into their construction work, but more can be done.

“There are still too many cases where bids to complete public sector construction work are restricted to using only 100 per cent virgin or primary aggregates, thereby excluding recycled materials from being considered,” she said.

“Recycled aggregates have proven to be as safe and reliable as primary aggregates.

No one should be prevented from competing for a contract solely because they propose to use recycled aggregates.”

With the recent cancellation of the “mega-quarry” in Melancthon, Ont., construction industry leaders are worried about the increased cost pressures for aggregates. “Recycling will take some of the pressure off of some of our existing quarries and the demand for new quarries. That’s the most important thing,” said Geoff Wilkinson, executive director of the Ontario Road Builders’ Association (ORBA), which is part of the ARO.

Recycling allows virgin aggregates to go further when they are needed, said Miller. “Recycled aggregates can fill that bill 90 per cent of the time, which leaves the primary aggregates that we really need for high end construction applications available to do that,” she said.

A 2012 survey of 119 Ontario municipalities found that 77 per cent of respondents allowed the use of recycled aggregates, though only 41 per cent of respondents said they encouraged such use through tenders and procurement policies.

About 53 per cent of municipalities said they allowed recycled aggregates to be used interchangeably with primary aggregates.

Thirty-four per cent of respondents said their planning documents do not allow aggregate recycling activities in pits and quarries and of those who did allow it, 83 per cent said they did not allow it outside of licensed pits and quarries.

“We still have a significant challenge ahead of us in having facilities in which to do this aggregate recycling,” said Miller. “I think Sylvia’s bill speaks directly to the fact that we need to change our outlook.”

Wilkinson said a big concern is that there are inconsistencies in municipalities around asphalt testing.

“We’d like to see that testing is done to ensure that specifications are met so that we’ve got a consistent level playing field and we have good asphalt as a result of that,” he said.

“For the most part, what’s out there is good, but unfortunately there’s always a case or two where it’s not up to the specifications.”

Aggregate recycling has been in Ontario since the 1970s.

Miller said from the asphalt perspective, the industry is doing a good job of taking up asphalt from roads and reconstituting it and putting it back on roads, but there is not yet a method to take concrete, crush it up and make new concrete out of it again.

While the construction sector has done a “pretty good job” at using materials that have been produced sustainably, Miller says the industry is not yet good at managing the full life cycle of an operation.

Miller hopes the bill’s second reading will occur before the Ontario Legislature’s summer break.

By Kelly LaPointe

Published in the Daily Commercial News, May 8, 2013

Warm greeting but no commitment to pledge 'Food and Water First'

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Published on Wednesday, 01 May 2013 15:01

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Fresh off its successful fight to kill the mega quarry application in Melancthon Township, the North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT) is now focused on "ensuring protection of prime farmland and source water," what it calls Phase 2, and the activist group is approaching municipalities to "pledge" their support.

Shirley Boxem of NDACT asked New Tecumseth councillors Monday night to sign on as a "Food and Water First Community."

It would involve "sending a message to investors to know, to understand that the priorities in New Tecumseth would be prime agricultural land and clean source water would be primary considerations when considering rezoning applications for the purpose of development," said Ms. Boxem. "Those benefits should be weighed against over all others."

She explained that making "the pledge" will "increase people's level of commitment." As well, it provides NDACT with "the numbers" and infrastucture of support to draw on while lobbying the senior levels of government to implement changes to protect farmland.

"Food and Water First is not anti-aggregate or anti development, It's about planning, It's about knowing in advance if you want to develop, if you want to build homes, if you want to make a change we ask that you not do it here, or not do it there but maybe put it over there," said Ms. Boxem. "We think that prime agricultural land should be preserved. It is disappearing across Ontario and we should do our best to preserve it."

Mayor Mike MacEachern told Ms. Boxem that he "personally" supported the group's cause, but noted that there were many planning applications in the queue in New Tecumseth on agricultural land.

"We're already in the mode of trying to protect prime agricultural land in certain areas," said the mayor.

"It's not about current ones," she replied. "It would be too much of an ask to address current applications. This would be moving forward."

Ms. Boxem said the pledge would fit well with the 40th anniversary of the Alliston Potato Festival.

"Please consider protecting the land that actually grows them."

The Walton Group has spent the past few years buying up thousands of acres of rural and agricultural land in New Tecumseth for future development opportunities. Currently the land bank speculator is working through the planning approvals process to develop an industrial subdivision on potato fields along Industrial Parkway in Alliston. Additionally, Cappuccitti (ODPDI) and Mattamy Homes have plans to develop about 15,000 new homes between Alliston and Beeton. They have threatened to appeal the Town's non-decision to the OMB.

New Tecumseth's farming community has also lobbied extensively over the past decade in opposition to the County Official Plan splitting up rural and agricultural land designations, with the latter being the most restrictive. New Tecumseth council did not commit to the Food and Water First program.

On Saturday, AWARE Simcoe is hosting a public awareness meeting at the Circle Theatre in Alliston, from 9:30 am to noon. It will include representatives from NDACT, Ontario Farmland Preservation, radio host consumer advocate Dale Goldhawk, and emceed by Donna Tranquada.

Posted May 1, 2013, on the New Tecumseth Free Press Online

Minister, it's time to protect food and water

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Published on Tuesday, 23 April 2013 17:32

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Amaranth Township Supports Motion to Resume ARA Review

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Published on Tuesday, 16 April 2013 01:49

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On April 10, 2013, Amaranth Township passed a motion to support Melancthon Township's resolution dated Mar. 7, 2013 to resume the ARA (Aggregate Resources Act) Review.

Click here, to see documents.