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Guelph/Eramosa mayor appears to cool on idea of huge glass plant in township

'Everything you hear just makes it sound worse and worse,' Mayor Chris White tells meeting of GET Concerned
20180618 get concerned ts
Environmental lawyer David Donnelly speaks on behalf of GET Concerned, the citizen's group opposing the proposed Xinyi glass plant in Guelph/Eramosa Township, at a meeting Monday, June 18, 2018. Tony Saxon/GuelphToday

Guelph/Eramosa Township Mayor Chris White offered words of hope for those opposed to the proposed Xinyi glass plant on Monday.

White spoke at a meeting of GET Concerned, the citizens group opposing a $450-million float glass plant that Chinese international glass manufacturer Xinyi wants to build on County Road 32, just west of Guelph.

“Everything you hear just makes it sound worse and worse,” White told roughly 75 people who attended the meeting at Parkwood Gardens Community Church on Whitelaw Road.

He called initial reports submitted with a planning application for a zoning bylaw amendment “Mickey Mouse” and - with three township councillors also in the room - reiterated that council knows that it’s main responsibility is to the residents.

“Our fundamental responsibility is to the community and its residents. We know that,” White said.

Xinyi has made a planning application to the township that seeks four zoning allowances associated with getting the two-million square foot plant built.

The township is currently awaiting more data and another planning report before assessing its options and making a decision on the application.

The township has promised a second public meeting (one was held last month) will be held before any decision is made.

“We hear you,” the mayor said. He also expressed regret for ever having referred to the project as a potential “game changer,” but reiterated that the township has a responsibility to look at any and all opportunities that walk through the door.

"All I saw was potential tax revenue and jobs," White said.

Opponents to the project have numerous concerns, including the effect of Xinyi taking 1.6 million litres of water per day from the ground, a 100-metre high smoke stack, traffic congestion and potential safety concerns in the event of an accident at the plant.

GET Concerned has turned up the heat by hiring environmental lawyer David Donnelly, who spoke at Monday’s meeting.

He said the township should reject the proposal or, at the very least, issue an interim control bylaw, which would give them a year to gather more information and further assess the proposal.

“The mayor and council is elected to express your voice,” Donnelly said. “They’re your first line of defence.”

He said council would certainly be vocal opponents if the business looking to locate on the property was a strip club, and it should be vocal opponents to a glass plant of this size, which Donnelly said belongs on industrial property somewhere “like Hamilton or Toronto.”

White said an interim control bylaw is one of the options council will explore at an upcoming meeting with its lawyer.

The glass plant would create around 400 jobs, Xinyi says, and would also create a windfall in tax revenue for the municipality.

There were no company representatives at Monday’s meeting.

In an open letter to residents of Guelph/Eramosa Township sent to media last month, the head of Xinyi’s Canadian operations said that the location was the ideal site for the facility, the company’s first in North America.

Tommy Wong said, “We believe that this is an ideal place to make a major investment for the good of this country and our company.”

“This site is ideal. It is close to clusters of excellent post-secondary institutions. There is a highly-educated workforce that can support technology transfer as well as research and development and we are close to our customers in Canada to serve them,” Wong said.

At the end of Monday’s meeting, those in attendance donated over $5,000 toward GET Concerned, whose executive has already spent $8,000 of their own money.

The “amount of non-information is a big concern,” said GET Concerned’s Susan McSherry. “Silence has been a big problem.

“We are a small township. We are not set up for anything like this.”


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Tony Saxon

About the Author: Tony Saxon

Tony Saxon has had a rich and varied 30 year career as a journalist, an award winning correspondent, columnist, reporter, feature writer and photographer.
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