Food and Water First
Food Water FirstPassing of Former NDACT Board Member, John Herndon
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- Published on Friday, 25 April 2014 15:08
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Farewell to John Herndon
We are sad to report the passing of one of our Mega Quarry fighters.
John Herndon was a former Agriculture Commissioner of Connecticut,
past NDACT board member and long-time resident of Mulmur before
moving recently to Prince Edward County. While living in Mulmur, John
and his wife, Tidi, hosted a special First Nations blessing ceremony in
2011 at the large lake on their stunning property. The lake is fed by the
aquifer once threatened by the mega quarry and has spiritual
significance for the First Nations.
During the Christmas break of 2011, a reporter from Fortune magazine
arrived from New York to write a story about the mega quarry and the
farmers fighting it. John gave us a tour of his land and the barn filled
with his beloved animals, including the strangest black llama I've ever
seen. (It resembled a huge black poodle) The reporter said afterward
"That fella is quite the character." He certainly was.
Our condolences to Tidi and the Herndon family.
By The Food & Water First Team
Food & Water First: fighting the larger battle
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- Published on Thursday, 17 April 2014 17:17
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In case you weren't at the Food and Water First General Meeting on April 5th, reporter, Marni Walsh has written a terrific article about it.
A ‘regressive document’
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- Published on Monday, 17 March 2014 00:46
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Re: Provincial Policy Statement (PPS 2014)
The Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) is the statement of the government’s policies on land use planning. It includes policies on key issues that affect our communities, such as:
• he efficient use and management of land and infrastructure
• rotection of the environment and resources
• nsuring appropriate opportunities for employment and residential development, includingsupport for a mix of uses
The PPS is an extremely powerful document that is issued under section 3 of the Planning Act:
“The Minister, or the Minister together with any other minister of the Crown, may from time to time issue policy statements that have been approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council on matters relating to municipal planning that in the opinion of the Minister are of provincial interest.” and all decisions affecting land use planning matters “shall be consistent with” the Provincial Policy Statement.iiii
“A decision of the council of a municipality, a local board, a planning board, a minister of the Crown and a ministry, board, commission or agency of the government, including the Municipal Board, in respect of the exercise of any authority that affects a planning matter, (a) shall be consistent with the policy statements issued under subsection (1) that are in effect on the date of the decision; and (b) shall conform with the provincial plans that are in effect on that date, or shall not conflict with them, as the case may be.”
It is developed ‘behind closed doors’, without review in the legislature, effectively supercedes and takes precedence over legislation, and requires municipal plans to conform. It is because of this extraordinary power that we are concerned about the surreptitious process by which it is created and how weak or absent, are the justifications for many of its clauses.
NDACT not relaxing opposition to ARA
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- Published on Thursday, 27 February 2014 14:53
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North Dufferin Agriculture and Community Taskforce (NDACT) is seeing a glimmer of hope in the government’s response to the 27 recommendations of the Standing Committee on General Government’s 2013 review of the Aggregate Resources Act.
The response was issued last Thursday, (Feb. 20) by Natural Resources Minister David Orazietti.
NDACT was disappointed when the recommendations were released in December because there had been no specific reference to protecting prime farmland.
Paterak calls for aggregate recycling workshop
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- Published on Friday, 14 February 2014 20:42
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Caledon group wants effects of aggregate recycling explored
Ward 1 Regional Councillor Richard Paterak is looking for an educational forum on aggregate recycling.
However, some council members wanted a more fulsome meeting covering the best practices.
“I understand what [councillor] Paterak wants from this motion, but I believe we should use this as a starting point to a bigger exercise,” said Ward 3 and 4 Area Councillor Nick deBoer. “As a community we have always looked to be at the front. I would like to have a commitment we aren’t going to start right there (with status quo). Maybe we look at new age recycling methods being done in Europe, who knows? But what a great opportunity to send that message up to the province this is what Caledon is looking at. Maybe it makes sense to have it in a gravel pit? We’re looking at two options, one is recycling in a pit, the other is recycling in a dedicated location.”