Food and Water First
Food Water FirstJones gains allies in effort to promote used aggregate
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- Published on Thursday, 15 August 2013 06:59
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Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones’ private member's bill aimed at promoting recycled aggregate is gaining momentum.
Jones introduced Bill 56, the Aggregate Recycling Promotion Act, in April.
Since then, her proposal has received an endorsement from Melancthon Mayor Bill Hill, as well as the Ontario Road Builders Association.
“The Ontario Road Builders are quite keen on it,” Jones said. “They have a lot of the stockpile they are not able to incorporate into bids.”
While Hill heralded the bill as an opportunity to save farmland from aggregate extraction, the road builders association said new technologies allow used asphalt to be recycled into a high quality product.
“Bill 56 takes an important step forward to get municipalities and other public sector bodies to consider the use of recycled materials,” Geoff Wilkinson, executive director of the Ontario Road Builders’ Association, said in a news release.
As the review of the Aggregate Resources Act nears its conclusion, Jones said her fellow all-party committee members understand her used rock.
“They see the value in encouraging recycling,” she said.
Bill 56 would allow contractors to use recycled aggregate when bidding on construction projects paid for with public money. Jones believes the bill would also encourage the reuse of aggregate in private construction projects.
“The product has already been mined and can’t go to a landfill site,” Jones said. “It’s there. Why aren’t we using it?”
Ontario is currently home to stockpiles of millions of tons of aggregate. Jones says those piles grow daily.
Jones plans to call the bill for a second reading in September.
Although the idea is proposed as legislation, Jones said the government might adopt promoting reuse of aggregate.
“There may be other ways they can encourage municipalities to change their bidding process to ensure recycled product is incorporated,” she said. “Even if the government adopts it, at least it will get done.”
By Bill Tremblay
Published in the Orangeville Banner, Aug. 15, 2013
Farmland crusades unite in celebration
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- Published on Wednesday, 07 August 2013 20:01
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Father Goose to join Food and Water First Celebration in Honeywood
Bill Lishman
Metroland file photo
Port Perry's Bill Lishman, known as 'Father Goose' for his historic flight with migrating Canada geese in 1993, will fly his ultralight plane to Melancthon to join the Food and Water First celebration on Saturday, Aug. 18.
An ultralight flight by a man known as Father Goose will help marry two crusades to save farmland.
Durham Region resident Bill Lishman, the first person to fly in formation with birds and the focal point of the 1996 movie Fly Away Home, plans to fly his ultralight plane from Pickering to Melancthon for the Food and Water First celebration on Saturday, Aug. 18.
“Quarries and gravel pits and airports trump farmland,” Lishman said. “It should be that farmland is the most valuable.”
While Lishman is known for his aviation efforts, he is also a member of Land Against Landings, a Pickering group dedicated to saving farmland from construction of an airport.
When he lands near the Honeywood arena, Lishman will explain the effort to maintain farmland in Durham. More than 40 years ago, his land was expropriated in favour of a runway.
“What we’re doing is trying to get people’s awareness of the value of that farmland,” he said.
“If you think of the future generations, if we keep paving it over there will be nothing left to grow stuff on to feed us. That’s what it comes down to.”
Lishman sees many similarities between how Land over Landings and Food and Water First operate.
“There’s quite a parallel. Fortunately, they were able to win the battle in a fairly short time,” he said. “We’ve been at it for 40 some-odd years.”
Flying to Melancthon provides an opportunity for the two groups to compare notes on protecting land.
“That whole group did a marvelous job putting pressure on a large corporation until they backed off,” Lishman said.
While in the air, Lishman will photograph and video record the lands once targeted by The Highland Companies for an aggregate quarry.
“In the future, if the mega quarry rears its ugly head again, we can put together a video,” he said.
“When you can visualize the land like that ... it makes such a difference,” he added. “People will see what could be lost if it is developed.”
Shirley Boxem, who is organizing the Food and Water First celebration, said literally linking farmland groups by aircraft is a first for the North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT).
“Everything with NDACT is the first of its kind, so it’s redundant to say that,” Boxem said. “I think it’s just loads of fun. I’ve never heard of that type of element at an event before.”
Lishman’s fly-by and speech is one of many attractions slated for the celebration at the Honeywood arena.
Big Whiskey joins Harlan Pepper to perform throughout the four-hour event.
The party also includes local chefs from Men With Knives, Terra Nova Public House, Matthew Flett and One99 Restaurant sampling what is threatened when farmland is lost.
As well, an art show and sale, farmers’ market and kids' activities join the festivities.
The celebration, as well as the Food and Water First movement, aims to build partnerships similar to that with Lishman in an effort to lobby for farmland protection
“If you’re operating as your own group with your own thing, it’s harder to grow. We’re looking for the common themes among these groups,” Boxem said. “It builds that critical mass even faster.”
Admission to the celebration costs $5 with hot food items priced between $2 and $5. It is free for youth younger than five-years-old. The ticket price covers the cost of operating the event.
For tickets, visit ndact.com or foodandwaterfirst.com.
By Bill Tremblay
Published in the Orangeville Banner, August 7, 2013
Preserving farmland a plan that makes sense (column)
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- Published on Monday, 29 July 2013 14:14
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ON POLITICS with Rob Strang — I’m very optimistic that Bonnefield Financial’s purchase of The Highland Companies farmland in Melancthon marks the end of the mega-quarry. From what I read, Bonnefield Financial genuinely invests in farmland with the intention of having it farmed in a sustainable fashion. I don’t have any greater insight than what gets reported in the newspapers and on the Bonnefield website, but I’m letting my optimism take the day.
My optimism is supported by my belief that it makes sense as an investment strategy. People will always need to eat. Local and global populations are rising and as economic prosperity spreads globally, people will eat more and different foods which require more agricultural inputs.
It seems reasonable to assume that good farmland will be more valuable 10, 50 and 100 years from now. How many businesses can claim the likelihood of that kind of longevity?
Now if only our governments would see the wisdom in protecting farmland as one of the few sustainable elements of our economy.
Sadly, this is not the case, as the plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe area is to accommodate 80 per cent of the whole province’s growth in this one small part of the province. That is an increase of 3.7 million people over 30 years.
It just seems profoundly foolish to facilitate such growth in an area with the best farmland in the province, some of the longest commute times in North America and traffic congestion that costs “upwards of $5 billion each year in lost GDP” (ref. Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe).
The growth plan has a double edged sword, in that it enables 60 per cent of that growth to occur on greenfield areas, so farmland will be consumed by both the development itself and the aggregate extraction to feed that development.
This kind of growth was used to justify the need for the mega-quarry, so with the mega-quarry dead, the demand for aggregate will be focussed on other parts of our region.
We’ve already seen a new application for a pit by Melville in Caledon. When one aggregate application closes, another opens, as long as the demand is there.
Sadly, I don’t see the government or any of the opposition parties even talking about a long-term plan for Ontario that includes spreading economic growth throughout the province or sustainable agriculture. Until we address the mindless growth plan for Ontario, we will be playing whack-a-mole with pits and quarries in Dufferin-Caledon and housing will continue to nibble away at our farmland.
By Rob Strang
Published in the Orangeville Banner, July 29, 2013
Aggregate industry still recovering from black eye
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- Published on Saturday, 27 July 2013 10:18
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The Holcim Canada Milton quarry, located in Milton, Ont., is becoming more of a rarity as the Ontario aggregate industry faces challenges in securing and developing new aggregate supplies.
The Ontario aggregate industry faces considerable challenges, from securing and developing new aggregate supplies, to delivering aggregates increasing distances to the markets that consume them. However, if you ask Steve Mader, vice-president of aggregate company Blueland Farms in Wiarton, Ont., he’ll tell you that the industry is healthier than it has been in many years.
Mader has been an aggregate man for about a quarter-century. His company now develops new aggregate sites for other producers.
“I get them through the regulatory hurdles, get them licensed, get the berms and fences up, break ground, move equipment in and operate them for six months to get production rolling,” he says. “At that point I sell them to another producer to operate for the remainder of the licence.”
Mader says that some companies operating in the aggregate business 50 years ago or more gave the industry a black eye that it has still not fully recovered from. Abandoned pits and quarries from long ago still represent a bad advertisement for the industry. On the other hand, current decommissioning practices, which require operators to restore a site to a specific condition, remain largely unnoticed because they blend in with the surrounding terrain.
Blueland Farms specializes in developing aggregate pits and quarries simply because the process of prospecting and seeking local zoning and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) approvals has become so labour-intensive.
“Siting a new quarry has become more of a struggle than it ever was,” he says. “The aggregate under the ground has to satisfy all of the testing criteria and you need to be certain that the deposit is homogeneous and extends enough of a distance to make the pit commercially viable. We excavate and take a core drill into potential properties as deep as we need to in order to satisfy ourselves. Even with the geological work we do beforehand, maybe one of every 10 properties we examine is worth pursuing.”
Mader is currently working to process an application for a 100-acre site in Caledon, Ont. The property is considered scrubland and has only marginal agricultural value.
“That property we’re applying for is so uneven, you could only graze three-legged billy goats there,” he says. “If the aggregate facility is approved, the property can be left in much better shape than what we started with.”
In order to receive approval for the proposal, Mader’s company must meet MNR requirements and adhere to the provincial Aggregate Resources Act and Regulations, Aggregate Resources Regulations, the Planning and Development Act and the Planning Act. The proposal must also conform to the Town of Caledon Official Plan.
Mader says that he understands the need for zoning and MNR oversight. However, he takes issues with what he sees as nuisance objections to site applications.
“We routinely receive letters of objection from people who live 40 to 50 kilometres away from the proposed aggregate facility and they’re saying they’re concerned about the noise of the delivery trucks and don’t want a site rezoned for aggregate,” he says. “We have to answer all of the objections that are registered and have to write letters responding to their noise concerns.”
Despite challenges to establishing new aggregate sources, and a greater emphasis on aggregate recycling, there is no substitute for a fresh supply of quality aggregate
“Those condominium towers in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) aren’t being built out of nothing,” says Mader. “With increased delivery distances, higher fuel costs, and higher equipment costs, the prices for aggregate are only going to go higher. Still, with steady demand, and the safeguards put in place by the industry, the aggregate business is on better footing than it has been in years.”
By Peter Kenter
Posted in the Daily Commercial News, July 25, 2013
Bonnefield Financial purchase of Melancthon farmland: A Fresh Start
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- Published on Thursday, 18 July 2013 15:31
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Thursday, July 18, 2013
The citizens’ groups that led the movement to protect thousands of acres of Class 1 farmland in Melancthon, Ontario welcome Bonnefield Financial to the community. Bonnefield has purchased the 6,500-acres of potato fields owned by the Highland Companies, including the land once proposed to become a 2300-acre mega quarry. After several years of uncertainty about the fate of the farmland, this is a new beginning.
The North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT), Conserve Our Rural Environment (CORE) and Citizens’ Alliance United for a Sustainable Environment (CAUSE) are pleased to hear that Bonnefield intends to continue farming the Class 1 agricultural soil. Bonnefield president, Tom Eisenhauer, has stated: “The Dufferin County transaction is the realization of a long-held dream. Here we have Canadian investors, supporting Canadian farmers to ensure that one of our most precious resources – farmland – continues to be used for farming. That’s the core of Bonnefield’s mission: farmland for farming.”
The chairman of NDACT, Carl Cosack, says he is impressed with Bonnefield’s intentions to keep this unique farmland in production. “We are grateful for Tom Eisenhauer’s commitment to sustainable, long-term agricultural practices and want to help Bonnefield succeed with these plans. It seems we share the same interests: keeping the province’s precious farmland productive for all Ontarians. This is a great outcome after seven intense years of public engagement. Food and Water First!” NDACT, CORE, CAUSE and the Melancthon community look forward to working with Bonnefield. We hope this positive development means the Melancthon fields and their bounty are preserved for future generations.
Signed,
North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT)
Conserve Our Rural Environment (CORE Cares)
Citizens’ Alliance United for a Sustainable Environment (CAUSE)